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Celine Sciamma confirms her status as one of France’s most sensitive and distinctive filmmakers with this striking story about a little girl who decides to be a boy . . .

It’s the school holidays, so when Laure (Zoe Heran) and her family move into a new flat, she introduces herself as ‘Michael’ to the local children. Soon (s)he’s playing football with the lads, and attracting attention from Lisa (Jeanne Disson), but will the ruse last when the gang heads to the nearby lake for a swim? As in her previous Water Lilies, Sciamma draws performances of extraordinary naturalness from the kids – the exasperating/adorable wee sis Malonn Levana is a born scene-stealer – and it’s precisely because we believe in the androgyny of ‘Michael’ that the story’s investigation into the formation of gender stereotypes, and what it’s like not to fit in, really hits home. Absorbing in its everyday drama, tender and funny, this is a memorable trip down the rocky road from childhood to adolescence. (Notes by Trevor Johnston). IFI IRISH SHORTS
This screening will include the IFB-funded short film Fumbling Towards Ecstasy directed by Gemma Faith. An exploration of female sexuality in the later stages of life. 4 minutes, 2010, Colour.