A panel of speakers discuss the nuances of portraying girlhood on screen, dissecting some of the best-known examples and looking towards future representations.

Tickets are free and available from 3rd October.

Tina Fey's breakout hit Mean Girls, Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood, an account of young, Black working-class girls in Paris, and Sarah Gavron’s Rocks, an intimate portrayal of found family that that featured an exciting new young cast, add up to some of the most memorable screen depictions of girlhood and female friendships in the 21st century. But as young women continue to be a source of filmmaking inspiration, is it time to examine the various nuances of ‘girlhood’ as a concept, umbrella term, sub-genre and theme? Bringing together a variety of voices, this panel aims to dissect how the representation of young women on screen has changed over the last few decades, and question the Western, heteronormative depictions that so often dictate our cultural definition of individual and collective ‘girlhood’. With the young, female experience being so diverse, is cinema really catering to the full spectrum of girlhood experience?

Speakers

• Angie Moneke, co-founder of TAPE

• Claire Marie Healy, author of Girlhood (Tate, 2023)

• Helen Simmons, co-writer & producer of Last Swim

• Shahed Ezaydi, writer & editor Stylist Magazine

Hosted by Lilia Pavin-Franks, Programmer and Event Producer.