EXCLUSIVE: Zeitgeist Films, in association with Kino Lorber, has scooped North American rights to Judith Godrèche’s Cannes Un Certain Regard title A Girl’s Story (Mémoire De Fille) from Paradise City, based on a memoir by Annie Ernaux.
Godrèche, a leading figure in France’s #MeToo movement, wrote and directed the film that stars Tess Barthélemy as a young Ernaux confronting memories of the sexual violence she experienced as a teenage summer-camp counsellor in 1958 that shaped the course of her life. Valérie Dréville plays Ernaux in her later years as she returns to Rouen for a book tour, triggering memories of the painful sexual awakening and the cruelty of her peers.
Ariane Labed, Anja Verderosa and Victor Bonnel co-star.
A Girl’s Story is produced by France’s Windy Production and Moana Films with Belgium’s UMedia.. Jour2Fete will release the film in French cinemas on September 30. Zeitgeist will launch the film theatrically at New York’s Film Forum in April of 2027, followed by a nationwide rollout
“This is not a French story, it is a universal story,” said Godreche. “I hope that my film, like Annie Ernaux’s book, will serve to demarginalise women’s experiences and our voices.”
Paradise City’s Jeanne Loriotti, described Zeitgeist and Kino Lorber as“two distributors who understand the importance of championing ambitious, female-driven cinema. At a time when our industry needs films like this more than ever, films that challenge, provoke and make space for women’s voices, we could not be prouder to see A Girl’s Story find such a strong home in the US.”
Emily Russo and Nancy Gerstman, co-presidents of Zeitgeist Films said: “[A Girl’s Story] a story that will surely resonate with viewers everywhere, in no small part due to Tess Barthélemy’s amazing and heartfelt performance.”
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