Coming-of-age narratives have long been a staple of cinema. The triumphs and turbulences young people go through on their way from adolescence to adulthood often make for uniquely relatable and interesting watches. The adolescent years are often times of great change and confusion, and films that portray that well can be incredibly cathartic to watch. Coming-of-age films centering on girls often deal with, besides the usual topics of growth, change, ambition, relationships, etc, confrontations with gendered expectations and societal standards. Of course, these experiences vary a lot based on culture, socio-economic status, and circumstance, and so I’ve included a wide range of picks across different languages for this list. Most of these movies that explore girlhood are also directed by women, which brings in a sense of authenticity in depiction.
“Girls Will be Girls” is Shuchi Talat’s feature directorial debut, which premiered at Sundance in 2024. Set in a boarding school in the Himalayas, it follows Mira (Preeti Panigrahi), the school head prefect. Mira is a stickler for rules, who often enforces the exacting standards of discipline expected by teachers on her fellow students. However, when she meets Srinivas, a new student, and starts developing romantic feelings for him, she finds herself breaking the rules and risking the ‘ideal student’ label. Added to this is the role of her mother, Anila (Kani Kusruti), who provides Mira and Srinivas a space to hang out, while also enforcing boundaries. Things get complicated when Anila starts eschewing certain boundaries herself, and inserting herself into the teenagers’ lives, making their dynamic even messier.
This film is a nuanced, complex exploration of mechanisms of social control as well as teenage curiosity and exploration. Mira lives in a world where girls are constantly policed for everything from the lengths of their skirts to their interactions with boys, and a lot of times, she is complicit in the policing herself, yet she’s aware of the double standards often prevalent, with girls often being blamed for the inappropriate actions of boys. In Srinivas, she finds a kindred spirit and he ignites in her a desire for romantic and sexual exploration.
Anila, the deuteragonist of the film–who is also an alumna of the school–had a very different experience growing up in a time with far more restrictive social norms. This colours much of her interactions with Mira and Srinivas. The highlight of this movie is of course, the messy mother-daughter relationship. Both Preeti Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti are perfect in the way they bring out the complexity of the dynamic between them.
Sofia Coppola’s films often deal with the inner lives of women, and this one is no exception. “Priscilla” chronicles the life of Priscilla Presley, Elvis’s wife, who was 14 when she first met the much older musician. This movie deals with the rather sensitive topic of grooming and predatory relationships through the eyes of the victim however it is also subtle in its approach. We see Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) as a bored teenager, her romance with Elvis, which in her eyes, brings excitement to her life, only for her to end up facing the reality of the power imbalance. She is isolated from her peers and her life ends up revolving around this one much older man, who wants to mold her according to his wishes. In essence, it is the story of a person who never really got a ‘coming-of-age’ story because of the situation she is in.
This movie does a commendable job portraying Priscilla’s inner life, particularly how this relationship keeps her from being a normal teen, and the loneliness and ennui that she faces. Coppola’s direction is subtle, yet thought provoking in its approach to its depiction of Priscilla’s life. Cailee Spaeny, does a remarkable job portraying Priscilla as both a teen and a woman in her twenties.
“House of Hummingbird,” is a Korean-language film directed by Kim Bora. Set in Seoul in 1994, it follows Eun-hee (Park Ji-Hu), a 14-year-old girl from a working-class background. Eun-hee leads a constricted life with her family and faces physical abuse at the hands of her brother. She also struggles with academics and is generally listless and confused. Things change for her with the arrival of her new Chinese teacher Ms. Kim. The struggle to feel seen is at the heart of many movies about teenagers, and in this movie, it is Ms Kim who helps Eunhee feel seen.
“House of Hummingbird” sensitively showcases universal teenage struggles involving academics, family, and relationships–both platonic and romantic. At the same time, it is very rooted in a specific time and place. The deadly collapse of the Seongsu bridge is part of the backdrop of Eunhee’s story, which adds vital context to the story, set in a rapidly industrializing and changing South Korea.
“Eighth Grade,” directed by Bo Burnham is another thought-provoking coming-of-age tale. It follows Kayla (Elsie Fisher), a 13-year-old struggling with shyness and anxiety, who finds herself isolated from her classmates. She finds refuge in the internet, posting videos on YouTube. When she is invited to a popular kid’s party, she finds herself a fish out of water. This movie is a tender, nuanced look at the experience of feeling lost during this confusing time of life, and thinking everyone else is leading a more interesting life than you are. It is also a stark reminder of what life is actually like for teens, removing the rose-colored lenses people often look through while reminiscing about their childhood. It shows how terrifying anxiety can feel, and how difficult navigating the world can be when you have it.
While this is an intimate exploration of a 13-year-old girl’s inner world, there are elements–like Kayla’s struggle with anxiety, and the depiction of internet culture–that feel relatable regardless of age, or gender. In fact, Bo Burnham has stated that the movie was for him, a way to reflect on how he felt in the present day, and his current relationship to the internet, and that is apparent in the movie.
This Assamese-language film, directed by Rima Das, is a tender, poignant story about a girl growing up in a village in Assam. It follows 10-year-old Dhunu (Bhanita Das), an adventurous young girl who enjoys running around and climbing trees. She’s the only girl among her group of friends, and dreams of one day becoming a rockstar, with her own band. This dream, however, is at odds with the reality of the rather humble circumstances she lives under–she’s the daughter of a widowed farmer who ekes out a rather modest livelihood for herself and her daughter.
The bulk of this movie is an exploration of Dhunu’s world, a world of fun and adventure with her friends, climbing trees and pretending to be rockstars amidst the panoramic landscapes of an Assamese village. However, over time Dhunu also learns about the harsher realities of life–from the social censure she faces for her tomboyish ways, to the puberty ritual that marks her as different from her male friends, and also the socio-economic realities of life in their village, something that becomes especially stark when floods hit the area. Nevertheless, this film remains hopeful throughout.
Rima Das is truly a filmmaker to keep an eye out for if you’re interested in these themes. Her follow-up film “Bulbul Can Sing,” is also a coming-of-age story, though it is bleaker in tone. In 2024, she has also come up with “Village Rockstars 2,” a sequel where we follow Dhunu in her teens.
Relationships between mothers and daughters seem to be a common theme in these coming-of-age movies and for good reason! “Lady Bird,” directed by Greta Gerwig, follows Christine, aka Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan), a girl in her final year of high school. Lady Bird dreams of escaping her hometown of Sacramento–a place she regards as ordinary– to go to college. She is often at odds with her mother (Laurie Metcalfe), an overworked nurse. This movie covers a lot of the familiar beats of teenage life–school, friendships, romance, etc.–while being layered and sensitive.
It also deals with financial anxieties, with the family being from what Christine calls ‘the wrong side of the tracks,’ and Marion believing a college not far from home would be the best option for her daughter. The presence of Christine’s wealthy friend, to whom she lies about her own situation, is another point of contention. With a quirky, humorous tone, these elements create a layered portrait that showcases the complexity of the teenage experience, familial, platonic, and romantic relationships, and the confusing reality of being no longer a child, and not quite an adult.
“Mustang” is a nuanced and complex take on what it’s like to grow up as a girl in a highly conservative, patriarchal society. This Turkish-language film directed by Deniz Gamze Ergüven, follows the lives of five orphaned sisters growing up with their extended family in a remote Turkish village. Their life is irrevocably changed when an innocent game with their male classmates gets misconstrued by their family, Their uncle and grandmother then forbid them from leaving the house and focus on preparing them for marriage.
Despite all this, the girls (played by Güneş Şensoy, Doğa Doğuşlu, Elit İşcan, and Tuğba Sunguroğlu) find ways to rebel. “Mustang” is not an easy one to watch, as it deals with bleak subjects like forced marriage and sexual assault. The reality the sisters live in is pretty dark, and this film does not hold back in its portrayal. However, it also contains tender and hopeful moments, and an overarching theme of sisterhood, making it a deeply moving story.
Celine Sciamma is another director known for thoughtful narratives about the female experience. Her best-known film, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is often regarded as a masterclass in representation of the female gaze. “Girlhood,” a lesser-known film of hers, however, is just as poignant. This French-language film follows Marieme (Karidja Toure), a girl from a poor suburb in Paris, who struggles with school, and her family situation. She faces abuse at home and also struggles with academics–leading her to be pushed to transfer to a technical school, to learn a trade. Things change for her when she meets three other girls who seem very unlike her–for they seem to be troublemakers.
Once Marieme joins their group, they get into all sorts of shenanigans, from shoplifting and fighting to booking hotels and eating pizza. While the girls are seen as rough and rowdy, theirs is not a dark and dangerous world, and much of the film focuses on tenderness, friendship, and exploration. It is a poignant look at a girl on her journey to find herself. By focusing on the lives of four girls who are of African descent, this film also challenges conventional ideas of French femininity, which often excludes racial minorities, and explores the intersection of class, race, and gender.
“Wadjda” is an Arabic-language film that has the distinction of being the first film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia, as well as the first by a female Saudi director, Haifaa Al Mansour. Waad Mohammed plays Wadjda, a plucky 10-year-old girl growing up in a social milieu that expects girls to be demure, when she’s anything but. Wadjda finds herself fascinated with the idea of owning a bicycle, like her best friend Abdullah. However, it is frowned upon for women and girls to ride bicycles in the time and place, and so her mother refuses to buy one for her.
Nevertheless, she plots and schemes to earn money to get her hands on one– she tries everything, from selling mixtapes and hand-braided bracelets to entering a Quran recitation competition. Alongside Wadjda’s struggles, we also get to see the perspective of her mother (Reem Abdullah). While she can be strict, she also clearly cares for Wadjda, and the narrative takes an empathetic look at her struggles as well. Waad Mohammed did an excellent job playing the lively, spirited Wadjda, whom you can’t help but root for. This film masterfully portrays the lived experiences of women and girls in a patriarchal society, offering a nuanced and well-rounded perspective.
“Juno,” directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, deals with the sensitive topic of teenage pregnancy. It follows Juno (Elliot Page), a teenager who finds herself pregnant. She decides to keep the baby and give it up to Mark (Jason Bateman) and Vanessa Loring (Jennifer Garner)–whom she sees as a stable and caring couple–for adoption. However, as she gets to know the Lorings, she finds out that there is more to them than meets the eye.
Though “Juno” deals with teen pregnancy it can’t be solely categorized under that label. It is also a sharp coming-of-age movie following a plucky girl in a tough situation. She is precocious but acts her age, and her story is treated with great compassion and nuance. The film also doubles down as a character study of both Juno, and the Lorings, and explores Juno’s idealism in the face of harsh realities in the world. Despite everything, this film never loses its overall hopeful tone.
