‘Girls Will Be Girls’ has won the Talents Footprints Mastercard grant at Berlinale for an incubation program designed to increase the participation of women in the grips and lighting departments in the Hindi film industry.
This grant essentially helps filmmakers achieve social impact through financial support, mentorship and public awareness.
The film is to be produced by Pushing Buttons Studios, an outfit founded by Indian actors Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha, and co-produced by Sanjay Gulati and Pooja Chauhan of Crawling Angel Films.
Written and to be directed by Shuchi Talati, ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ is set in an elite boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town in northern India and follows the story of a 16-year-old girl, whose rebellious coming-of-age is hijacked by her mother who never got to come-of-age. “I like my work to challenge dominant narratives around gender, sexuality, and the Indian identity,” Talati told Variety.
At the Berlinale Co-Production Market, ‘Girls Will Be Girls’ also won two development awards, the VFF Talent Highlight Award as well as the ArteKINO award, which is presented by French TV channel ARTE to honor an artistically outstanding project.
