Girl (2018 film)

Girl
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLukas Dhont
Written by
  • Lukas Dhont
  • Angelo Tijssens
Produced byDirk Impens
Starring
CinematographyFrank van den Eeden
Edited byAlain Dessauvage
Music byValentin Hadjadj
Production
companies
  • Menuet
  • Frakas Productions
  • Topkapi Films
Distributed byLumière
Release dates
  • 12 May 2018 (2018-05-12) (Cannes)
  • 9 October 2018 (2018-10-09) (Belgium)
  • 1 November 2018 (2018-11-01) (Netherlands)
Running time
106 minutes[1]
Countries
  • Belgium
  • Netherlands
Languages
  • Dutch
  • French
Budget€1.5 million[2]
Box office$4.2 million[3][4]

Girl is a 2018 drama film directed by Lukas Dhont, in his feature debut. It was written by Dhont and Angelo Tijssens and stars Victor Polster, in his acting debut, as a trans girl who pursues a career as a ballerina.

The film screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Caméra d'Or award, for best first feature film, as well as the Queer Palm, and Polster won the Un Certain Regard Jury Award for Best Performance.[5] It was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards,[6][7] although it did not make the December shortlist.[8] It received nine nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards and won four, including Best Screenplay and Best Actor for Polster.

Girl was inspired by Nora Monsecour, a trans female dancer from Belgium, whom Dhont met when he was 18 and she was 15.[9] While initially praised by critics,[10] the film was criticised by some trans and queer writers for its depiction of gender dysphoria and self-harm. Concern was also raised about the lead actor and director both being cisgender. Monsecour, who collaborated with Dhont and Tijssens on the film, has defended the film in response.

  1. ^ "Girl". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Girl" (in Dutch). Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds. 3 July 2017. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Girl (2018)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Girl (2018)". The Numbers. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  5. ^ Debruge, Peter (19 May 2018). "Japanese Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Shoplifters' Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes". Variety. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  6. ^ "'Girl' is Belgian entry for the Oscars". De Morgen. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  7. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (27 August 2018). "Oscars: Belgium Selects 'Girl', Cannes' Camera D'Or, As Foreign Language Entry". Deadline. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  8. ^ Thompson, Anne (17 December 2018). "Oscars 2019 Foreign-Language Feature Shortlist: Winners and Losers". IndieWire. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  9. ^ Clarke, Cath (12 March 2019). "'I have the right to tell this story': Lukas Dhont defends his trans film Girl". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  10. ^ Romano, Nick (6 December 2018). "Trans critics explain the problem with Girl and its Golden Globes nomination". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 17 December 2018.