Girlhood

Directed by Céline Sciamma.
Starring Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh.

Céline Sciamma’s fresh coming-of-age drama follows sixteen-year-old Marieme, a black French teenager with few immediate prospects living in the suburbs of Paris. On her way out of school, she is approached by Lady, the leader of an all-girl gang, and is invited to join them. The girls display intimidation by fighting and stealing from others, but they exhibit love and support for one another. Marieme, escaping her abusive brother and absent mother, reinvents herself through the gang, adopting their style and mannerisms and going by her new street name, “Vic”. Vic develops a more aggressive side to her personality that helps her shed her former life and prove herself to Lady, but she cannot escape the struggles that come with heartbreak and adolescence.