Our take
It would be understandable if it only occurs to you midway through that Little Girl isn’t actually a narrative feature but a gorgeously made documentary. Director Sébastien Lifshitz approaches his main character of Sasha not just with respect and empathy for her identity, but with a dedication to bring out the euphoria of feeling comfortable in one’s skin. As a result, Lifshitz seems to intentionally avoid any and all scenes where Sasha may face discrimination (especially at school), but even if this choice occasionally make the material feel thin, getting to see Sasha gradually learning to express herself more—or even just just seeing her enjoy a quiet moment on her own—is more precious than anything.
What it won
Cannes
1 win
Berlin
1 nom
The story
7-year-old Sasha has always known that she is a girl. Sasha’s family has recently accepted her gender identity, embracing their daughter for who she truly is while working to confront outdated norms and find affirmation in a small community of rural France.
Elsewhere
"An immersive, experiential film..."
— Richard Brody
"A film to change the world."
— Lillian Crawford
Eight-year-old Sasha navigates everyday life, as her parents learn how to better accommodate their child identifying as a girl.
Of course, a movie like this is just as much about Sasha's parents as it is about Sasha herself. And as expected, there's still some worry on their part for how their daughter may be treated in the future once she's away from the safety of her family. But it's still incredibly valuable that Lifshitz shows us this family having already grown past any initial stages of awkwardness or misunderstanding. All we see are parents who've remained strong to their vow of loving their child unconditionally—and making it look like the easiest, most common-sense thing a person could do. No matter their worries, they show any other parents in similar situations that letting one's child feel accepted is both easy and gratifying.
It's really not that hard to adjust the pronouns you use, people!
The details
Who picked it
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
