Jeune Juliette

Juliette is a red-haired high school sophomore, from a broken home and madly in love with her big brother's handsome friend. And she is a bit chubby, which makes her an easy target to her peers.

This drama comedy is inspired by director Anne Émond's own youth, and many will without doubt be able to recognize stories of their own in an equally painful and beautiful rendering of a time that one may idealize over the years but would never want to return to.

It is easy to draw lines to Eighth Grade as a reference. Both are films with a strong, female lead character who refuses to give up despite adversity, an absent mother, a male family member backing from the sideline – and not least the unattainable crush that may turn out not to be "all that" after all. Coming-of-age films made by adults for a young audience is one of the most difficult tasks a director can take on, which is why it is uplifting that Anne Émond's Jeune Juliette succeeds so well. The key is that the film dares to show how complex reality is, avoiding the one-dimensional characters that too often appears in high school films.

Anne Émond (b. 1982) is a Canadian director from Quebec. She has a film degree from the University of Monteral, and she presented her first short, Naissances, in 2009. Her first feature film, Nuit #1, come in 2011 and was followed by Our Love Ones (2011) and Nelly (2016).