Girlhood

The basic plot is not an unfamiliar one: a rather shy and reserved girl finds herself becoming friends with a group of more outgoing girls who lead her down a dangerous path.

Marieme (Karidja Touré) is a disenchanted teenager. Fed up with her unhappy home and lack of prospects, she drops out of school, changes her name and her entire life to fit in with a gang of sassier girls. She begins stealing to fit in with them and one foolish decision leads to another and another...

Girlhood is much grittier than any other films of this kind, it deals with the difficult lives of the black working class in Paris and explosively deals with a young woman’s identity crisis. It’s powerful, moving and hard-hitting, an incredible piece of cinema.

Jess Walker