‘Upon Her Lips’ is NQV Media’s lesbian shorts collection series, and the companion to their ‘The Male Gaze’ series. For the last release in the series before 2025 draws to a close, ‘Upon Her Lips’ is pulling together five shorts under the title ‘Open Secrets’. These films from Iran, Spain, France, Germany and New Zealand all focus on women and girls who are hiding a part of themselves from the rest of the world.
This collection opens with Samira Karimi’s ‘CCTV’, which finds two high school girls in trouble after being caught in a compromising situation on the school’s CCTV. Given this short is based in Iran, there’s an even more urgent sense of panic as same-sex relationships and intimacy are not openly welcomed. After being called to the head teacher’s office, the two girls go to extreme lengths to make sure that the evidence of their encounter is removed for good.
Maura Matute’s “She’s A Friend” takes us to Spain next where Lucía (Laura Romero) and Paloma (Violeta Orgaz) take a trip to Lucía’s family’s country house. As the two look forward to spending some time together, their plans are thrown into chaos when Lucía’s brother unexpectedly turns up with his boyfriend. Lucía hasn’t come out to her family yet so what should have been a nice weekend turns into a tense one as Paloma has to pretend she’s just a friend. Anyone who has been in a relationship before coming out to their family will be able to relate to the stress and frustration of the situation.
Over to France next for ‘Queen Size’ by director Avril Besson. Marina (Raya Martigny) sells her mattress to Charlie (India Hair) as Marina is planning to move home to Reunion. What starts off as a basic transaction soon turns into something more when the two women find they have a lot more in common than expected. This short is about finding a connection when you least expect it, and it changes the lives of both of the women, which neither of them could have predicted.
For director Mark Lorei’s “A Lady’s Ritual”, we head to 19th century rural Germany. This was possibly my least favourite of the shorts on the collection, as it explores sexuality and the occult in a way that I didn’t necessarily feel came together. A noble woman hears gossip about a clairvoyant in the village, and her exploration leads to surprising places. I didn’t feel this one flowed particularly well and while I appreciated the way the short looked (the costumes are fantastic), I just didn’t connect to the story.
Things pick up with the final short – “Joey’s Heart” from director Louise Lever. Joey (Angela Bloomfield) considers herself to be the ‘gay Bridget Jones’ and she’s grown tired of being the singleton at parties. At the community laughter club she meets Alice (Holly Hudson) and opens herself up to the possibility of love again. This short is a story for women who are comfortable with their sexuality and have more experience under their belt. It’s funny, sweet and warms the heart, making it the perfect way to end the collection.
‘Upon Her Lips: Open Secrets’ has some really interesting films but it’s not the most even of collections. The films that are good, really stand out while the ones that are a little less engaging bring the overall enjoyment of the collection down. It’s important to showcase these kinds of shorts, and not every one can suit every person watching. I’m sure others will get more out of this than I did.
Cast: Parnia Larni, Parisa Habibi, Negar Taheri, Mehri AlAgha, Violeta Orgaz, Laura Romero, India Hair, Raya Martigny, Jenny König, Eva Maria Sommersberg, Angela Bloomfield, Holly Hudson Directors: Samira Karimi, Maura Matute, Avril Besson, Mark Lorei, Louise Lever Certificate: Duration: 96 mins Released by: NQV Media Release date: 24th November2025 Buy ‘Upon Her Lips: Open Secrets’ now
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