Girl Asleep 2016

In the late 1970s, a 14-year-old named Greta Driscoll moves to a new school and finds the start of a complicated social landscape. She quickly forges a cautious friendship with Elliott, a kind and earnest classmate she admires, while a trio of stylish girls—Jade, Sapphire, and Amber—circles her, nudging her into their group even though Greta doesn’t fully want to fit in with them.

Greta’s mother, worried that her daughter is friendless, decides to invite the entire school to Greta’s fifteenth birthday party. Greta resists, but ultimately allows the plan to proceed, hoping it will bring a sense of belonging. The party brings moments of light and laughter, yet the night is soured when Amber and her friends perform a cruel song that mocks Greta’s body. Greta flees in tears, and Elliott confesses a crush on her—an admission Greta handles with discomfort, pushing him away.

Not long after, Greta notices a strange creature in her room that has stolen her music box. She follows it into the forest behind her house, where shadowy beings lurk and danger feels close at hand. In the midst of this peril, she is rescued by the Huldra, a mysterious forest guardian. After a brief separation from the Huldra, Greta searches for her music box and is halted when a woman smashes several music boxes, briefly freezing her in terror. The Huldra intervenes again, hurling Greta back into her own world and leaving her to process what she has just endured.

Back at home, Greta faces a surreal battle as she confronts malevolent versions of Amber, Jade, and Sapphire. The climactic journey reveals a startling truth: the creature who stole her music box is, in fact, a manifestation of her own younger self—the parts of Greta she has yet to reconcile and accept.

Greta awakens in her bedroom to the comforting presence of her older sister, who offers warmth and perspective. The sister’s reassurance makes Greta realize that growing up, while awkward, does not mean she is alone. Reenergized, Greta returns to the party, seeking reconciliation with Elliott. She asks him to switch clothes so she can shed the restrictive dress her mother had chosen, stepping into Elliott’s suit to reclaim ease and authenticity. With renewed confidence, she blows out the candles, marking a new, more self-assured chapter as she celebrates her 15th birthday.

What follows is a quiet exploration of identity, belonging, and the courage to own who you are, wrapped in a fantasy-lueled night that tests Greta’s friendships, her courage, and her sense of self—all culminating in a moment of personal clarity that frees her to move forward.