[Français ci-après]
Behind the glitz and glamor of the Croisette, the Cannes Film Festival is the hottest event of the planet. The selections are intense and the films are poetic and cutting edge. The Directors' Fortnight promises to be raucous.
After Water Lilies and the controversial Tomboy that unnerved the radical Catholic group Civitas, Céline Sciamma continues her journey bringing us Girlhood. The director fully exploits her favourite subject: girls. Chick stories with blurred identities, her film is serious.
Reading the title, I think of, though mistakenly, the sadly famous Black Boukantes and of Tokyo Girls, these girls ready to fight for a mere misplaced look, a stolen boyfriend or a rumour thrown around. These girls with whom we do not particularly want to be involved, because of their approximate French, their academic failure, their weaves with exposed seams, their gaudy makeup and their faux pair of Jordans from the Clignancourt flea market.
Suffering most often from a negative image, societal rejection and an exacerbated sexism, they have a desire to establish their own game. The terrorized become the terror, screaming at anyone who will listen, that their primary motivation is to gain respect. Then let's be honest, nobody is fighting for a Fatou flinguée*. Nobody tries to seduce her. Half-guy, half-madame, one only wonders how they manage to survive in a world without faith or law or even worst you are only a hole, or at best, the sister of a guy serving a sentence in Fleury for hiding dope in his crotch; an untouchable, in fact!
The new glamorised version of the film Squale (2000) by Fabrice Genestal has Beyoncé as its idol, with dreams of glory and glitter. With a backdrop of the concrete walls of the housing projects, this generation fantasises about a Rihanna and Chris Brown romance and accumulates selfies on social media, fighting fervently to finally enjoy her share of the happiness that nobody seems to want to give her for free. No one chooses to be born in a high rise, but one may escape from it, during getaways to Châtelet les Halles or to Gare du Nord.
The commuter trains from the city outskirts and French cinema have not managed to mix these two worlds in opposition. There is the world of Fatou and the world of Lola. A world that is reduced to smoking joints in Agathe’s haussmannian apartment, as she laments about the lack of space in her loft in the heart of the 16th district. Tchip! at least you have a room of your own, fool! A charted future that leaves no room for uncertainty.
It is often forgotten that the housing project is not just a concentration of testosterone but a mixed space where girls try to liberate themselves. It is evident that the synopsis leaves nothing to the imagination, there will be a brawl worthy of a furious Solange Knowles ready to do battle in an elevator, the settling of scores among girls, the love stories and, especially friendship. Scheduled for general release in October, Céline Sciamma stated in the Nouvel Observateur that Girlhood will not be a crude feature about the housing projects in the outskirts of the city, but when one reads the synopsis and sees the faces of the protagonists, it is difficult to believe in the possibility of finding a balance between Squale and LOL by Lisa Azuelos.
Under an urban mural and an electro soundtrack, Girlhood resonates more romantic than it seems. Yet, when we are informed that Tatiana, Rabah, Diabaté and Karidja are part of the cast, one knows immediately that we are far from the family lineage of the actors of old France. With origins from Pontoise, I trust that Céline Sciamma will do justice to the countless forgotten, stigmatized and misunderstood of French cinema.
*Among the Franco-African youth of France, the Niafou or Fatou Flinguée is a girl who attempts to fashion her appearance in the image of hyper-mediatized American celebrities. Source: lemondederedwane
Read other analyses of Girlhood on the African Women in Cinema Blog:
A Gang of What? by Claire Diao | Bande de quoi? Par Claire Diao
Beyond clichés/Au-delà des clichés by/par Olivier Barlet
*Among the Franco-African youth of France, the Niafou or Fatou Flinguée is a girl who attempts to fashion her appearance in the image of hyper-mediatized American celebrities. Source: lemondederedwane
Read other analyses of Girlhood on the African Women in Cinema Blog:
Beyond clichés/Au-delà des clichés by/par Olivier Barlet
BANDE DE MEUFS
Derrière le faste et le glamour de la croisette, le Festival de Cannes est l’évènement le plus couru de la planète. Les sélections y sont rudes et les films y sont pointus et poétiques. La Quinzaine des Réalisateurs promet d’être bruyante.
Après Naissance des pieuvres et le très controversé Tomboy qui a mis en rogne le groupe catholique radical Civitas, Céline Sciamma continue son chemin et nous revient avec une performance décalée intitulée Bande de Filles. La réalisatrice exploite à fond son sujet de prédilection : les filles. Les histoires de meufs avec des identités brouillées, c’est grave sa came.
En lisant le titre, je pense à tort aux tristement fameuses Black Boukantes et aux Tokyo Girls, ces filles prêtes à s’taper pour un regard mal placé, un mec volé ou une rumeur lancée. Ces filles dont nous ne souhaitons surtout pas être associées, la faute à leur français approximatif, à leur échec scolaire, à leurs tissages aux coutures apparentes, à leur maquillage grossier et à leurs paires de Jordan falsifiées du marché aux puces de Clignancourt.
Souffrant le plus souvent d’une image négative, d’un rejet de la société et d’un sexisme exacerbé à leur égard, elles veulent instaurer leur propre game. Les terrorisées deviennent les terreurs et crient à qui veut l’entendre que leur motivation première est l’obtention du respect. Puis soyons honnêtes, personne ne se bat pour une Fatou flinguée*. Personne ne cherche à la séduire. Mi-gars, mi-madame, on se demande juste comment elles font pour survivre dans un monde sans foi, ni loi où au pire, tu n’es qu’un trou et au mieux, la soeur d’un caïd purgeant une peine à Fleury pour avoir caché des boulettes de shit dans son l’entrejambe, donc intouchable, quoin !
Au sein de la jeunesse franco-africaine, la Niafou ou Fatou Flinguée est une fille qui s’applique à tailler son apparence à l’image des célébrités américaines surmédiatisées dans l’Hexagone. À lire dans son intégralité: http://phenomenalemanda.com/bande-de-meufs/ N'EST PLUS DISPONIBLE
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