Hayley Kiyoko’s debut film, inspired by her viral song, explores the evolution of friendship into romance between two young women.
Focus Features has acquired the worldwide rights to “Girls Like Girls,” a film that signifies the feature directing and screenwriting debut of Hayley Kiyoko, a well-known pop star, actress, and novelist. The film is inspired by Kiyoko’s 2015 breakthrough song and its corresponding viral music video, which delicately portrays the evolution of a friendship between two young women into romantic feelings.
The music video, released in June 2015, became a cultural phenomenon, quickly garnering attention for its authentic depiction of LGBTQ+ relationships. To date, Kiyoko’s song “Girls Like Girls” has achieved over 140.7 million downloads on Spotify and its music video has amassed 157.5 million views on YouTube. Kiyoko further expanded on the narrative found in the music video with a young adult novel released in 2023, which debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Sellers list for Young Adult Hardcover, maintaining a position within the top ten for seven consecutive weeks.
The film, co-written by Kiyoko and actress Stefanie Scott, who also starred in the original music video, centres around themes of first love and self-acceptance. It has been produced by a notable team, including Marc Platt, Katie McNicol, Adam Siegel, Dee Best for Marc Platt Productions, and Michael Philip, Jason Moring, along with Richard Alan Reid from BuzzFeed Studios. Michelle Momplaisir will oversee the project for Focus.
Hayley Kiyoko has remained a pivotal figure in modern music and culture, having released two studio albums and four EPs, amassing over 1.1 billion streams and 2.3 million subscribers on YouTube. She has received significant recognition, including a VMA for Push Artist of the Year and being named one of NPR’s “21st Century’s Most Influential Women Musicians” in 2018. Additionally, her acting credits include roles in “Lemonade Mouth” and “Insecure.”
Stefanie Scott, who partners with Kiyoko on the film, has a diverse acting portfolio as well, featuring in films like “Insidious: Chapter 3,” “Jem and the Holograms,” and “Beautiful Boy.”
Focus Features is also gearing up for the release of other significant projects, including Edward Berger’s Oscar contender “Conclave” and Robert Eggers’ anticipated reimagining of “Nosferatu,” set to debut on Christmas Day. Kiyoko is represented by CAA and several other agencies for various aspects of her career, while Scott is repped by More/Medavoy and Gersh.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Image: Shutterstock Kathy Hutchins