Girlhood 2015

Karidja Touré plays Marieme, a 16-year-old African-French girl living in a crowded, economically stressed Paris suburb. She struggles in school, which pushes her toward a vocational track where she will learn a trade, a path that mirrors the limited options she faces. At home, her mother works long hours, and her abusive brother Djibril effectively runs the household, shaping a tense and sometimes suffocating atmosphere.

On the day she learns about vocational school, a group of older girls crosses her path after classes. The gang is led by Assa Sylla as Lady, with followers Marietou Toure as Fily and Lindsay Karamoh as Adiatou. They invite Marieme to spend a day in the city center, flaunting leather jackets, gold jewelry, and pin-straight hair. Although she initially declines, the moment is changed when she notices the group interacting boldly with a cluster of boys, including Diabate Idrissa as Ismaël, a boy she has a crush on. Seized by a mix of curiosity and longing, Marieme decides to join them.

What follows is a journey through camaraderie and risk, where the girls fight, intimidate, and steal, yet also offer each other loyalty and support. The bond among them deepens as Marieme begins to imitate their style and mannerisms, ultimately adopting their clothes and attitudes as her own. After a theft, the group secures a hotel room for the night, purchases dresses, drinks, uses drugs, lip-syncs to Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” and dances until the early hours. In this moment, Lady places a gold necklace in Marieme’s hand, engraved with the name Vic for Victory, a symbol of a new, empowered identity.

A public clash follows when Lady faces a rival girl group. Lady is defeated, and the aftermath is harsh: her father cuts her hair and instructs her to distance herself from the gang. Determined to prove herself, Vic finds a way to win a later battle by ripping the rival girl’s shirt and bra, leaving her exposed, a victory that both Lady and Djibril regard with pride.

The triumph, however, is shadowed when Djibril learns that Vic slept with Ismaël, and he lashes out physically. This confrontation drives Marieme to leave home and seek a new life working for Abou, a local drug dealer. Vic moves into an apartment with Monica, a sex worker also connected to Abou, and becomes involved in selling drugs with a group of young men. Her appearance shifts as part of this double life: she wears dresses, makeup, and a blonde wig for parties, while elsewhere she binds her breasts and dresses in loose clothing to blend in and avoid attention.

At a party hosted by Abou, Vic shares a quiet moment on the dance floor with Monica. Abou approaches and attempts to kiss her, but she pushes him away, making it clear she won’t accept that dynamic. She then goes to Ismaël’s place to tell him she’s finished with Abou, and he offers to shelter her and even marry her. She declines, insisting she does not want that kind of life. When she tries to return home, she finds she cannot gain entry, and a moment of tears gives way to a resolute, determined exit as she walks away, ready to shape her own path.