It’s often said that friends are the family you choose for yourself. Well, this month’s VOD and web series choices showcase how women deal with both their biological and chosen families. Each female-led project features protagonists navigating different kinds of relationships that support, define, and — let’s face it — complicate their lives.

Sarah Rotella’s comedy “Almost Adults” highlights the importance of female friendship during college, a time defined by in-betweeness and uncertainty. As senior year comes to a close and the opposite (and same) sex is as confusing as ever, two best friends must decide whether they will grow together or apart.

Ashley Avis’ “Deserted” offers a heavier tale, and focuses on a sister and brother stuck with a group of strangers in Death Valley. Completely surrounded by desert, Jae (Mischa Barton, “The O.C.”), an ex-convict, faces internal, physical, and interpersonal challenges.

Our web series picks continue to stress the importance of support systems. “Brown Girls” follows the friendship between Leila (Nabila Hossain), a South Asian-American writer exploring her sexual identity, and Patricia (Sonia Denis), a sex-positive black American musician. Edie, the protagonist of Michaela Myers’ “Happy Thoughts,” directs all attention and energy to the relationships with her clients, who are victims of sexual trauma. As time goes on, however, she learns that she too needs a helping hand.

Here are our VOD and web series selections for March.

VOD

“Almost Adults” — Directed by Sarah Rotella; Written by Adriana DiLonardo

Sarah Rotella and Adriana DiLonardo are best known for their LGBTQ YouTube comedy channel Unsolicited Project. Their debut feature, an official selection of many 2016 festivals, is a platonic rom-com that follows the relationship between a queer woman and her straight BFF. Mackenzie (Elise Bauman) and Cassie (Natasha Negovanlis) know each other better than anyone else — except when it comes to Mackenzie’s sexual orientation, of which Cassie is oblivious. As these two face their final year in college and the ins and outs of romantic love, they must also face the inevitable toll that change takes on their friendship.

Check out “Almost Adults” on Amazon, iTunes, or these other streaming platforms.

“Deserted” — Written and Directed by Ashley Avis

“Deserted” is first and foremost a visual project inspired by photographs of what writer-director Ashley Avis describes as Death Valley’s “endless stretches of beauty and nothingness.” Its narrative is one of survival and complicated family dynamics. Following her release from prison, 24-year-old Jae (Barton) joins her brother (Jackson Davis) and a group of mysterious strangers on a desert road trip that quickly goes awry. Their group is forced to find their way out of millions of acres of isolated desert at all costs.

You can watch “Deserted” on Amazon.

Web Series

“Brown Girls” — Created by Fatimah Asghar; Directed by Sam Bailey

Focusing on the friendship between two 20-something women of color, “Brown Girls” and its commitment to intersectional feminism have already been labeled as a “cure for white feminism.” As exciting as this premise is, director Sam Bailey dropped another reason why “Brown Girls” is a must-see: It’s led by a crew of 95 percent women and people of color. Bailey was committed to “making sure that the people behind the camera represented the story they were telling in front of the camera.” Oh, would you look at that — it can be done!

Check out “Brown Girls” on Open TV.

“Happy Thoughts” — Written and Directed by Michaela Myers

Not only does Michaela Myers star in “Happy Thoughts” — she wrote, directed, produced, and edited the entire series. Talk about wearing many hats. Her character, Edie, is also a bit of a multi-tasker, working as a “life optimizer” for victims of sexual trauma while silently working through a past of her own. Myers aims to portray how “sexual trauma can haunt a survivor years after the event, something small can trigger it, and that internal struggle can be the most difficult thing to share with people.” This series explores the process (or lack thereof) of falling apart. It also questions whether or not someone will be there once we do.

You can watch “Happy Thoughts” on Vimeo.