Girl, an extraordinarily moving coming-of-age tale about identity and the journey to becoming who you’re meant to be, will be screened at Spazju Kreattiv Cinema on Thursday at 7.30pm.

Determined 15-year-old Lara (Victor Polster) is a young woman who is fiercely committed to becoming a professional ballerina. She throws herself into this quest at a new school, but finds the usual frustrations and challenges of adolescence are heightened as her body does not bend easily to the strict ballet discipline because she was born a boy.

Though supported by her family, Lara’s adolescent frustrations and impatience are heightened as she prepares for gender reassignment surgery, pushing her body to its limits. Based on empowering real-life experiences, Girl is a powerful and sensitively told story about the nuances of growing up transgender and the struggle that can motivate or define that process.

The film won the Camera d’Or award for best first feature and the Queer Palm award at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. It was also the London Film Festival’s first feature competition winner for 2018, and winner of the European Discovery award – Prix FIPRESCI 2018 at the European Film Awards.

Girl is the feature film-making debut of writer-director Lukas Dhont.

Girl will be screened at Spazju Kreattiv Cinema, Valletta, on Thursday at 7.30pm. To watch a trailer visit https://www.kreattivita.org/en/event/girl. For tickets, visit https://ticketenginex.kreattivita.org.