Girls Like Girls (2026) by Hayley Kiyoko

US | 2026 | 95 min | Romance / Drama / Coming-of-Age |

➡️ Where to Watch: US | CA

In rural Oregon in 2006, 17-year-old Coley (Maya da Costa) struggles with grief following her mother’s death while navigating the emotional uncertainties of adolescence. Her life changes when she meets Sonya (Myra Molloy), a girl who awakens unexpected romantic feelings. However, Coley’s self-doubt and fear of intimacy complicate their growing connection, while Sonya is also uncertain about dating another girl. As their relationship develops, both teenagers must confront their insecurities and learn to acknowledge emotions they do not fully understand. Based on Hayley Kiyoko’s 2015 song and music video, Girls Like Girls explores first love, grief, identity and the courage to embrace one’s authentic feelings.

➡️ Storyline: Two teenage girls discover unexpected romantic feelings while navigating grief, emotional insecurity and the challenges of accepting who they are.

Girls Like Girls combines Hayley Kiyoko’s feature directorial debut, a beloved music-video origin and an emotionally relatable teenage romance. Expanding her 2015 song and music video into a feature-length story, Kiyoko explores the vulnerability of first love through two girls navigating attraction and self-acceptance. Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy lead the film, supported by recognizable performers including Zach Braff and Levon Hawke. Its generally favorable critical reception and strong emotional resonance among some viewers make it particularly appealing to audiences seeking coming-of-age stories centered on authentic romantic experiences.

➡️ Reason to Watch: A heartfelt coming-of-age romance that transforms Hayley Kiyoko’s influential music video into a feature film about first love, emotional vulnerability and self-acceptance.

Girls Like Girls stands out through its unusual creative journey from song to music video to feature film, allowing Hayley Kiyoko to expand an established story into a longer exploration of teenage identity. Set in 2006, the film combines nostalgic adolescent experiences with themes of romantic uncertainty and emotional discovery. Coley’s grief adds complexity to her developing relationship with Sonya, connecting first love with the challenges of rebuilding emotional trust after personal loss. The story also places a romance between two girls at the center of a recognizable coming-of-age narrative, emphasizing feelings and experiences that extend beyond questions of identity. By focusing on vulnerability, attraction and the fear of rejection, the film presents self-acceptance as an emotional journey rather than a single moment of realization.

➡️ Why It Stands Out: A music-video-inspired teenage romance that combines nostalgia, grief and emotional authenticity to explore the courage required to embrace first love.

Queer Coming-of-Age Romances explore how romantic discovery intersects with identity, emotional insecurity and the desire to be accepted. Girls Like Girls reflects this cinematic direction through Coley and Sonya, whose growing attraction challenges their understanding of themselves and their relationships. Their uncertainties are recognizable elements of teenage romance, while the specific experience of discovering same-sex attraction adds another dimension to the story. By combining first love with grief, vulnerability and personal growth, the film illustrates how contemporary coming-of-age narratives can place diverse romantic experiences within familiar emotional frameworks. Its music-video origins also connect the story to an existing cultural audience, demonstrating how established creative works can develop into new cinematic expressions.

➡️ Movie Trend Insight: Queer coming-of-age romances place emotional discovery and self-acceptance at the center of first-love stories, making diverse experiences relatable through universal feelings of attraction, uncertainty and vulnerability.

Be Yourself / Authenticity reflects the desire to live according to personal feelings and values rather than expectations imposed by others. In Girls Like Girls, Coley and Sonya struggle to understand and express their romantic attraction, illustrating how uncertainty and fear can prevent individuals from acknowledging what they genuinely feel. Their relationship connects authenticity with emotional vulnerability, suggesting that accepting oneself often requires confronting insecurity and the possibility of rejection. Beyond cinema, this trend relates to changing attitudes toward identity, relationships and personal expression, particularly among younger generations seeking greater freedom to define themselves. The film presents authenticity not as a fixed characteristic but as a process of emotional discovery and growing confidence.

➡️ Broad Trend Insight: Authenticity increasingly means having the confidence to recognize and express personal feelings, even when uncertainty or social expectations make emotional honesty difficult.

Girls Like Girls primarily appeals to younger audiences interested in coming-of-age romances, LGBTQ+ storytelling and emotionally relatable experiences of first love. Its focus on two teenagers discovering their feelings makes it relevant to viewers who appreciate intimate, character-driven stories about identity and relationships. The film’s connection to Hayley Kiyoko’s 2015 music video also creates an additional audience among longtime fans, while its 2006 setting introduces nostalgic appeal for adults reflecting on their own adolescent experiences.

Audience Description: Adults approximately 18–35 who appreciate romantic stories centered on LGBTQ+ characters and authentic emotional experiences. They may connect with Coley and Sonya’s uncertainty, vulnerability and gradual acceptance of their romantic feelings.

Audience Description: Adults approximately 18–40 familiar with Hayley Kiyoko’s music and the original Girls Like Girls video. They are attracted by the opportunity to experience a familiar creative work expanded into a feature-length romantic narrative.

Audience Description: Adults approximately 20–45 who enjoy emotionally intimate stories about adolescence, grief and romantic discovery. The film’s 2006 setting and focus on personal uncertainty appeal to viewers interested in revisiting the emotional intensity of teenage relationships.

➡️ Audience Insight: Girls Like Girls connects with audiences through three motivations: emotional identification with first love, interest in authentic romantic representation and nostalgia for a culturally recognizable music-video story.

Girls Like Girls illustrates how established music and digital storytelling can provide the foundation for feature-length films with recognizable cultural appeal. By adapting her own 2015 song and music video, Hayley Kiyoko demonstrates how a short-form creative work can develop into a more extensive narrative exploring identity and relationships. The film also reflects opportunities for coming-of-age cinema to broaden romantic representation while retaining familiar themes of attraction, insecurity and emotional discovery. Its generally favorable critical reception suggests that stories centered on specific personal experiences can resonate beyond their original audiences, although mixed viewer reactions to pacing and writing highlight the importance of strong narrative development when expanding shorter material. For filmmakers and studios, the project offers an example of how existing music fandom and character-driven storytelling can intersect.

➡️ Industry Insight: Music-to-film adaptations can transform established cultural connections into feature-length narratives, while emotionally grounded LGBTQ+ romances expand the range of experiences represented in mainstream coming-of-age cinema.

Girls Like Girls offers an emotionally focused coming-of-age romance built around two teenagers learning to understand and accept their feelings. Hayley Kiyoko’s feature directorial debut brings her 2015 music-video concept into a longer narrative, supported by Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy as the central couple. The film’s combination of grief, first love and identity provides meaningful emotional themes, while its nostalgic setting and established musical origins distinguish it from more conventional teenage romances. With a Metascore of 70/100 and an IMDb rating of 6.3/10 from approximately 3,800 users in the supplied listing, its reception is generally favorable among critics but more divided among audiences, particularly regarding pacing and screenplay development.

➡️ Final Verdict Insight: A heartfelt and culturally connected coming-of-age romance that explores first love and self-acceptance through emotional vulnerability, nostalgic storytelling and Hayley Kiyoko’s distinctive creative origins.

The broader Be Yourself / Authenticity trend reflects the desire to recognize personal identity and express genuine emotions without being limited by insecurity or external expectations. Girls Like Girls explores this need through Coley and Sonya, two teenagers whose unexpected romantic attraction challenges their confidence and understanding of themselves. Their relationship illustrates how first love can become an important experience of emotional discovery and personal growth.

The film also demonstrates how familiar romantic themes can gain new meaning through different personal experiences and creative formats. By expanding a music video into a feature-length story, it connects an established cultural work with a broader exploration of grief, attraction and self-acceptance. Its central insight is that emotional authenticity begins when individuals gain the courage to acknowledge their feelings and allow themselves to experience meaningful connection.

➡️ Final Insight: Be Yourself / Authenticity reflects the desire to express genuine feelings and build relationships without hiding personal identity. Girls Like Girls explores this trend through two teenage girls whose first romance becomes a journey of vulnerability, emotional discovery and self-acceptance. Its music-to-film adaptation illustrates how familiar coming-of-age storytelling can create space for diverse experiences while preserving the universal emotional appeal of first love.