Sundance Drama ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ Sells to Juno Films (EXCLUSIVE)
Juno Films has nabbed North American rights to “Girls Will Be Girls,” a mother-daughter drama that premiered at Sundance Film Festival.
The movie will screen at SXSW next week before it lands in theaters this fall.
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Shuchi Talati directed “Girls Will Be Girls,” which is set at a strict boarding school in the Himalayas as 16-year-old Mira’s sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother, who never got to come of age herself. Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti and Kesav Binoy Kiron star in the film. It was selected for Sundance’s audience award in the category of world cinema drama.
“I am so excited to be working with Juno Films because of their collaborative approach with filmmakers and fierce dedication to their films,” Talati said in a statement. “Though the film is grounded in India, I have always felt that it is a film for a wide audience. I can’t wait for this story to meet its audience. I hope viewers will come along for a tense, funny, uncomfortable and moving ride.”
In Variety’s review, critic Siddhant Adlakha called the film a “thrilling, intimate debut,” and wrote that “‘Girls Will Be Girls’ walks a complex tightrope, balancing the contrasting intentions of the characters with the overall narrative as its scattered pieces fall into place.”
The deal was negotiated between Jennyfer Gautier Head of Sales for Paris-based Lux Box Films and Vondah Elizabeth Sheldon, CEO of Juno Films.
“’Girls Will Be Girls’ is a rare film that seeks not to exploit female sexuality to titillate the viewer, but to show how female sexuality is exploited by conservative norms,” Sheldon said in a statement. “Shuchi Talati’s film is an extraordinary debut that subtly explores power structures, female desire and agency.”
Juno Films, a boutique film distributor, has recently released Lasse Hallstrom’s “Hilma,” the Gaelic comedy “Roise & Frank,” and “What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael.”
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