Suchi Talati’s Coming-of-age Feature Film ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ Premiers at Sundance
- Co-produced by Bollywood actors Richa Chad and Ali Fazal, it’s the only Indian film at the festival this year.
Bollywood actors Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s debut production venture “Girls Will Be Girls” premiered on Jan. 20 at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. The debut feature from writer-director Shuchi Talati, the only Indian film at the festival this year, screened under the World Dramatic Feature category.
The coming-of-age film revolves around 16-year-old Mira who discovers desire and romance in a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas. “But her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come of age herself,” says a synopsis of the film on the festival website. Malayalam actor Kani Kusruti (“Pada”) is one of the leads. The film marks the debut of emerging actors Preeti Panigrahi and Kesav Binoy Kiron who also have lead roles.
The film received rave reviews at its Jan. 20 premiere at the festival in Utah. Variety said that “the complicated character drama makes for a thrilling, intimate debut.” The way the film “presents female teen sexuality — sensitively, sensuously, mischievously — is practically revolutionary in the broader context of Indian cinema.” Noting that Talati has “all the makings of a future auteur,” the publication credits her “handling of the movie’s complex, often discomforting material is deft and empathetic. The review also mentions editor Amrita David, who “allows her actors to fully immerse themselves in their performances.”
Calling the film a Sundance “breakout,” a review in the Screen Daily noted that “the tender feelings and understated direction combine to create a tale of female empowerment that should travel well beyond its world premiere” in the festival.
Paste magazine lauds the director and lead actors’ performances. According to the review, “the tension and release” between the mother and daughter, “revs up the tone” of the film, “flooring it from romance to a little off to erotic thriller.” The film is “an attempt at heightening some of the taboo competitiveness, the resentment, that can stir between parent and child as one’s blooming sexuality can cause the other to feel like theirs is waning,” the review added.
Two documentaries with an Indian connection were also screened at the festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. Bhutanese filmmaker Arun Bhattarai’s “Agent of Happiness” was screened on Jan. 20, and Anupama Srinivasan’s “Nocturnes,” was screened today (Jan. 22).
Set in the Eastern Himalayas, “Nocturnes” sees “two curious observers shine a light on a secret universe, transporting audiences to a rarely-seen place where moths help knit together an important ecosystem,” according to the ec doc’s synopsis. The duo’s latest documentary, Flickering Lights, competed in the International Competition at the 2023 edition of IDFA, where it took the top prize for cinematography.
Co-directed by Dorottya Zurbó, and produced by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi and Máté Artur Vincze, “Agent of Happiness” follows two happiness agents, Amar and Gunaraj, “who are like an odd couple, the Bhutanese Laurel and Hardy,” the film’s synopsis says. While Gunaraj is a serious family man, Amar is a relentless romantic, who dreams about finding a wife. “His day job is to document happiness in others’ lives while he is in search of his own,” the synopsis adds.