Hayley Kiyoko on Girls Like Girls and the Importance of Centering Women’s and Queer Stories in Film

A new spotlight series titled Women in Focus Features has launched as a collaborative project between Focus Features and Rotten Tomatoes, aiming to celebrate women filmmakers and the stories they bring to the screen. The series highlights how contemporary female directors and actors continue to shape the identity of the studio by contributing powerful, diverse, and emotionally resonant narratives.

Each episode of the series features artists reflecting on the importance of representation in film, particularly the ways in which women’s perspectives have helped redefine storytelling in modern cinema. Through personal insights and professional experiences, the guests explore how their work connects to a larger legacy of women-driven filmmaking.

In the inaugural episode, singer, actress, and filmmaker Hayley Kiyoko takes center stage to discuss her directorial debut, Girls Like Girls, a coming-of-age romantic film that explores themes of identity, self-discovery, and queer love. Kiyoko joins representatives from Focus Features and Rotten Tomatoes to share her creative journey, her motivations behind the project, and her hopes for the future of inclusive storytelling in Hollywood.

A Personal Vision Behind the Film

During the conversation, Kiyoko reflects on what inspired her to step into directing and how deeply personal the project is to her. Girls Like Girls is not just a film for her—it represents a long-standing desire to tell stories that center queer romance in a meaningful and authentic way.

She explains that growing up, she rarely saw hopeful or positive portrayals of queer relationships on screen. Most of the narratives available to her were limited in scope, often focusing on struggle without offering much space for joy, growth, or emotional fulfillment. This lack of representation shaped her desire to create something different: a story that embraces love, optimism, and emotional complexity for queer characters.

For Kiyoko, directing this film was an opportunity to contribute something she wished had existed during her own formative years. By placing queer love at the heart of the story, she aims to normalize these experiences while also celebrating their emotional depth and universality.

Embracing Her Role as a Woman Director

Kiyoko also speaks about her position within the filmmaking industry as part of a relatively small group of women directors. While acknowledging that women are still underrepresented behind the camera, she expresses pride in being part of what she describes as a “small but mighty” community of female filmmakers.

She emphasizes that although the group may not yet be large, its impact is significant. Women directors continue to push boundaries, challenge industry norms, and bring fresh perspectives to storytelling that might otherwise go unheard.

For Kiyoko, being part of this community is both empowering and motivating. She sees her work not only as personal artistic expression but also as part of a broader movement toward greater inclusion and diversity in cinema.

The Importance of Representation in Film

A central theme of Kiyoko’s discussion is the importance of representation—both in front of and behind the camera. She highlights how seeing diverse stories on screen can have a profound effect on audiences, especially those who may feel unseen or underrepresented in mainstream media.

By creating films that reflect a wider range of identities and experiences, filmmakers can help audiences feel validated and understood. Kiyoko believes that storytelling has the power to shape how people view themselves and others, making representation a responsibility as well as an artistic choice.

Through Girls Like Girls, she hopes to offer viewers a sense of connection and possibility, particularly for young queer audiences seeking stories that reflect their own lives in a positive and affirming way.

Influences and Inspirations from Women Filmmakers

During the episode, Kiyoko also shares the names of women directors who have inspired her creative journey. She points to Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell as two filmmakers whose work has left a lasting impression on her artistic perspective.

Chloé Zhao’s storytelling approach, known for its emotional intimacy and naturalistic style, represents a form of cinema that deeply resonates with Kiyoko. Zhao’s ability to capture human vulnerability and quiet moments of truth serves as an example of how film can feel both grounded and deeply poetic.

Similarly, Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman is highlighted as a bold and unconventional narrative that challenges audience expectations. Kiyoko admires Fennell’s willingness to take creative risks and explore difficult themes through a distinctive visual and narrative style.

Both filmmakers, in Kiyoko’s view, demonstrate the range and versatility of women’s voices in cinema. Their work reinforces the idea that there is no single way to be a woman director, and that creative expression can take many forms.

A Growing Space for Women in Cinema

The Women in Focus Features series aims to showcase stories like Kiyoko’s while also emphasizing the broader evolution of the film industry. As more women take on directing, producing, and writing roles, the landscape of cinema continues to diversify in both style and substance.

Kiyoko’s participation in the series reflects this ongoing shift. Her presence as a director, musician, and actress highlights the increasingly multifaceted nature of modern creative careers, where artists often move between different forms of storytelling.

Her work on Girls Like Girls represents not only a personal milestone but also a contribution to a larger cultural movement that seeks to expand whose stories are told and how they are presented.

Looking Toward the Future of Storytelling

Throughout the discussion, Kiyoko expresses optimism about the future of film. While acknowledging the challenges that still exist in terms of representation and opportunity, she remains hopeful that the industry is moving in a positive direction.

She believes that as more diverse voices enter filmmaking, audiences will continue to see richer, more varied stories that reflect the complexity of real human experiences. For her, the goal is not just to tell her own story, but to help create space for others to tell theirs as well.

Ultimately, Girls Like Girls stands as both a creative achievement and a statement of intent: a film rooted in personal truth, shaped by community, and driven by the desire to see love and identity represented with honesty and care.

Through her participation in Women in Focus Features, Hayley Kiyoko joins a growing chorus of filmmakers committed to reshaping the narrative landscape of cinema—one story at a time.