Brooklyn-based Indian filmmaker Shuchi Talati is known for examining the complexities of South Asian identity through the lens of gender and sexuality. Her feature debut, Girls Will Be Girls is a coming of age drama of Mira, a young teenager on the cusp of her sexual awakening courting Sri, a handsome boy from her class, set in a Himalayan town against the backdrop of a modern India still rooted in conservative patriarchal traditions.
Although Talati molds and carves her young protagonists through her impeccable writing, it is Kani Kasruti playing the protective mother who steals the show by clashing against her headstrong daughter, while navigating her own repressed desires.
Talati’s command at directing such a complex and richly layered story masterfully exploring the subtle complexities of mother-daughter dynamics, gets elevated by her empathetic gaze that flawlessly captures the fascinating triangular relationship between the mother, Mira and Sri.
Shuchi Talati
Shuchi Talati is a filmmaker from India whose work challenges dominant narratives around gender, sexuality, and South Asian identity. Her feature film, Girls Will Be Girls, world premiered in competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Her short film, A Period Piece, about an afternoon of period sex, was selected for SXSW Film & TV Festival. Shuchi is an alumna of Berlinale Talents, and her work has been recognized by the New York State Council for the Arts and Région Île-de-France. She is a graduate of the American Film Institute. She lives in New York City and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, the Bitchitra Collective, and the Freelance Solidarity Project.
