MELBOURNE, 25 August, 2024: On the last day of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024 (IFFM 2024), it was a treat to watch ‘Girls Will Be Girls’, the Closing Night Film of the festival at the Hoyts, Docklands District. My longish walk from the tram stand and the unpredictable weather to reach Hoyts, was greeted with relief, as I heard the ‘Dhol’ music announcing the last day of the 10-days long festival.
Festival regulars and volunteers in red T-shirts were in plenty as many a film personalities passed through the red carpet. I could see Mitu Bhowmick Lange, Preeti Panigrahi, Vikrant Massey, and Sanya Malhotra. Everything was geared for the Closing Night Film ‘Girls Will Be Girls’.
During the screening of ‘Mrs’, the audience had clapped as the protagonist rebels and flees domestic slavery. ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ is a bit different despite being a girls movie.
A teen (16-years-old) girl in a boarding school experiences sexual awakening and her protective mother causes emotional turmoil as herself she has not come of age. The daughter-mother relation is strong despite the rather odd but natural happenings involving the three (mother, daughter and a school male mate).
It’s a study of teen sexual awakening and the consequences, like a Enid Blyton tale. Only the setting is different, despite the mainly English dialogues. Simultaneous relationships as always, as in the movie, navigate depending on the situation. The movie resonantly, tells us mother-daughter love and rivalry. The romantic scenes speak for themselves. This is a coming-of-age movie, that is much more than one could expect.
Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron give excellent performances laced with Shuchi Talati’s direction.
Interestingly, the majority film crew was female to give it a ‘girls will be girls’ exclusive safe space. No doubt, this happened and we have this outstanding movie. Well done, Girls Will be Girls team.
Title – Girls Will Be Girls
Countries – India, France, Norway, USA
Language – English, Hindi
Duration – 118 minutes
Cast – Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron
Writer-Director – Shuchi Talati
CREW: Director and Screenwriter: Shuchi Talati DOP: Jih-E Peng Art Director: Avyakta Kapur Editor: Amrita David Costume Design: Shaahid Amir Sound: Prasenjit Das, Colin Favre-Bulle, Carole Verner, Laure Arto Music: Pierre Oberkampf, Sneha Khanwalkar Production: Dolce Vita Films, Pushing Buttons Studio, Crawling Angels Films Coproduction: Hummel Films, Cinema Inutile, Blink Digital, Arte Cofinova World Sales: Luxbox
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
Sundance – World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Audience Award, Special Jury Award for Acting – 2024
Göteborg Film Festival – International Competition – 2024
SXSW – Festival Favorites – 2024
Sofia International Film Festival – Competition – Best Director – 2024
Cleveland International Film Festival – International Narrative Competition – 2024
Istanbul Film Festival – No More Flowers – 2024
TIFF Next Wave Film Festival – 2024
Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival – Little Women – 2024
Transilvania International Film Festival – Main Competition – Transilvania Trophy – 2024
Biarritz Film Festival Nouvelles Vagues – International Competition – Grand Prix – 2024
Transilvania International Film Festival – International Competition – Transylvania Trophy – 2024
-Movie details have been accessed from https://www.luxboxfilms.com/girls-will-be-girls
