TOM's Film Club: Girlhood (2014) Film / Cinema

Girlhood is the third feature from acclaimed director Céline Sciamma, following Water Lilies and Tomboy, and is highly regarded as one of the best coming-of-age films of recent years.

The film stars newcomer Karidja Touré in a wonderfully assured and realised debut performance as Marieme, a reserved high school student with few friends who lives in the housing projects on the outskirts of Paris with her busy overworked mother and abusive brother. After being kicked out of school for poor grades, Marieme finds an outlet for escape in the form of a trio of girls who ask her to go on a stealing spree with them in the city. With some stolen money, they steal dresses, buy alcohol and book a hotel room; in what will soon become an iconic scene of cinema, the girls dance and lip-sync to Rihanna's "Diamonds," initiate Marieme as the fourth member of their gang and christen her with the new name "Vic for Victory." With a new found identity and confidence, Vic/Marieme finds solace in fighting other female gangs and learning how to be strong and independent despite being driven to the margins of Parisian society by her age, gender and race.

Often compared with Mathieu Kassovitz's modern classic La Haine for its setting in the French projects and themes of gang culture, Sciamma explores the genre from a female perspective and delivers something a lot more uplifting, while at the same time giving her film that same gritty realism which made the former film so notorious. A future classic of French cinema itself, Girlhood perfectly embodies the awkward moments of growing up and the power of camaraderie and acceptance during uncertain and alienating times.

Tickets: £6.

Call the Box Office (Mon-Fri, 1pm-5pm, 01273 201 801) to buy: £10 film saver (valid for two different TOM's Films), £24 season pass (valid for all TOM's Film Club SPRING screenings).

15+

Artists / Speakers: Céline Sciamma, Karidja Touré.

Booking: https://go.evvnt.com/174652-0

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