Girls Like Girls

Hayley Kiyoko's song, "Girls Like Girls," became a music video she directed, a novel she wrote, and ultimately this coming-of-age romantic drama she co-wrote and directed. Maya da Costa stars as 17-year-old Coley, struggling with more than her share of teenage angst. After her mother's suicide, she reconnects with her absentee father (Zach Braff), who moves them from San Diego to rural Oregon. There, she kinda falls in with a new friend group, but the person she's most drawn to is Sonya (Myra Molloy), who sparks a mutual romantic attraction. Each girl's insecurity and inexperience make it difficult to navigate their intimate connection.

The first act has many of the same seemingly autobiographical touches that made Maria Maggenti's The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love such a delight. The second half is a bit more of a YA melodrama, but it's no less affecting. The two leads are terrific at playing what's going on inside them, both in the surface details of their performances and the bigger "acting moments." The cinematography by Sonja Tsypin captures the beauty of the area where the film is shot (Canada standing in for Origon).