Girls Will Be Girls

Sixteen-year-old Mira, the Head Prefect at her Himalayan school, crashes headfirst into teenage love, her country’s oppression of female sexual agency, and her own mother’s stifled desires in this stellar debut feature from Shuchi Talati, which won the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Just because Mira is the top student at her boarding school doesn’t mean she isn’t a teenager. Having spent most of her life focused on her academics, it comes as quite a shock to everyone when her previously disciplined focus shifts to Sri, a new transfer student. After her mother, Anila, gets wind of Mira’s affection for this boy, Anila insists the only place they can see each other is in her home, where she can keep a watchful eye on her daughter. As Sri’s presence becomes more common in the household, what transpires is an emotional love triangle between Mira and Anila as they find themselves competing for Sri’s affection. Starting as a story that centers on young love, and transforming into a broader love story of the complex relationship between a mother and daughter, GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS is a beautifully nuanced coming-of-age film. —G.S.