GIRLHOOD (BANDE DE FILLES) World Cinema

In her third feature, French filmmaker Céline Sciamma crafts an intimate coming-of-age story. Rugged tomboy Marieme has been told she must go to technical school due to her low grades. Instead, she drops out and finds acceptance with a gang of free-spirited girls. To assimilate into the group, Marieme assumes a new feminine identity named Vic, hoping this will be a way to freedom from the life she longs to escape. First-time actress Karidja Touré delivers a chameleonic performance as Marieme/Vic, expertly shifting as she explores different character facets throughout the film. Taking her inspiration from the blogs of teenage girls she encountered in Les Halles shopping center in Paris, Sciamma further explores the themes of feminine identity, societal restrictions and taboos while anchoring this story in the political realities of today’s France.