La Petite Dernière

A poignant coming-of-age drama that follows Fatima, the youngest daughter in a French-Algerian family living in the Parisian suburbs, as she leaves her close-knit home to study philosophy at university. New horizons awaken her attraction to women and with it, inner turmoil. The film traces Fatima's tentative exploration of her sexuality in seasonal chapters. Alongside being tenderly guided by her first serious relationship, a Korean nurse named Ji-Na, she also seeks counsel from an imam who responds with a mixture of kindness and dogma. Throughout, Herzi subverts cliche depictions, portraying Fatima's family not as a source of hostility, but of complex, loving support. In doing so, the film becomes a meditation on how each of us must find the courage to shirk off expectation and forge a path that honors all facets of our identities. (Bethan Hughes)