Petite Fille

Born with the physical attributes of a boy, Sasha was three years old when he announced to his mother that when he grew up he was going to be a girl. Thus begins a very difficult voyage for Sasha and family, as society’s gatekeepers—school teachers, administrators, etc.—refuse to recognise the child and her family’s wishes. ‘I don’t know why it bothers people. If it wasn’t written on paper that her sex is male, who would know it?" says Sasha’s mom at one point in master documentarian Sébastien Lifshitz’s profoundly moving chronicle of the young child’s life. That it is also a marvellously cinematic journey is a bonus; it is sure to leave an indelible mark on all who see it.

‘[Lifshitz] has become a documentarian of such skill and confidence that his films feel increasingly light on their feet while at the same time gaining in depth and emotional resonance. As in the work of all master documentarians, the filmmaking technique seems to have melted away so that only the protagonists and their stories are left… Lifshitz never demonizes those that don’t understand or oppose Sasha’s desire to be who she really is and they remain almost entirely offscreen. Instead, the director chronicles, with immense warmth and generosity, the toll this outside opposition takes on Sasha and her loved ones and how much love, care and attention is needed to compensate for the fact she’s not simply accepted like all her peers.’—Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter