Strong Leads: A Film Seminar for High School Girls is a free after-school program spotlighting films by women. It is designed for 10th, 11th and 12th girls of all identities, including gender-nonconforming youth. A presentation of the Belcourt’s education and engagement program, Strong Leads explores gender representation in cinema, in the Hollywood establishment, and in film discourse.
Students will meet at the Belcourt Tuesdays, Mar 31-Apr 28, 4:00-7:30pm, to watch films and discuss with their peers. Strong Leads is facilitated by Allison Inman, the Belcourt’s education and engagement director, and Jessie Griffith, the Belcourt’s theatre operations director and education associate.
Participation in Strong Leads is by application only. This seminar is offered at no cost to participants, but capacity is limited, and students must apply and be selected to attend. It is designed for students only and is meant to be taken in its entirety (no single sessions). Please note that the seminar is for 10th, 11th and 12th grade students. No exceptions, please.
Strong Leads features high-quality films designed to spark conversation about important issues. Because of that, some films contain adult situations, profanity, drug/alcohol use, nudity, sexual situations, and violence.
Applications are due Tue, Mar 23. Students will be notified Wed, Mar 24.
Tue, Mar 31: Strong Leads orientation and activities
Tue, Apr 7: THE INCREDIBLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF TWO GIRLS IN LOVE Dir. Maria Maggenti | USA | 1995 | 94 min. | R
Tue, Apr 14: BRIDES Dir. Nadia Fall | UK | 2025 | 93 mins | Not Rated | In English and Turkish with English subtitles
Tue, Apr 21: SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING Dir. Rachel Lambert | USA | 2024 | 91 min. | PG-13
Tue, Apr 28: WADJDA Dir. Haifaa al-Mansour | Saudi Arabia | 2012 | 98 min. | PG | In Arabic with English subtitles
THE INCREDIBLY TRUE ADVENTURES OF TWO GIRLS IN LOVE
Randy is a rebellious, working class tomboy who works at a gas station. Evie is smart, well-off and poised to be a second-generation academic. Staged against a backdrop that could be anywhere in rural America, Maggenti’s film is about teens from opposite sides of the track who form an unlikely romance — and discover themselves in the chaos and delight of first awakenings. The film breaks from mid-’90s cinematic conventions — when there was no other such pairing of the narratively universal with adolescent lesbian experience. TWO GIRLS IN LOVE is a pioneering, uplifting and affirming work of queer cinema — made by a lesbian, for lesbians (and everyone else, too).
BRIDES
Two disillusioned 15-year-old girls, Doe and Muna, make a pact to leave their troubled lives in the UK to embark on a life-changing journey to the Syrian border, after being influenced by propaganda on social media. Though danger and uncertainty lie ahead, Doe and Muna are driven by their unwavering friendship and pursuit of freedom, purpose, and community. Inspired by the real life accounts of young British Muslims who have joined ISIS, Nadia Fall’s utterly gripping and disturbing new film is a deeply humanising and daring coming-of-age road trip drama which sheds light on the complexities of girlhood, teenage rebellion, and radicalisation.
SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING
Lost on the dreary Oregon coast, Fran finds solace in her cubicle, listening to the constant hum of officemates and occasionally daydreaming to pass the time. She is ghosting through life, unable to pop her bubble of isolation — when a friendly new coworker, Robert, persistently tries to connect with her. Though it goes against every fiber of her being, she may have to give this guy a chance. Director Rachel Lambert and team craft beautiful cinema for this delicately told story of love for the socially awkward and emotionally challenged. The film is made all the more human by its lovely cast, most prominent in the penetrating eyes of lead actress/producer, Daisy Ridley, and the caring smile of lead actor, Dave Merheje. SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT DYING is an unexpected fable on the virtues of living.
WADJDA
In a country where cinemas are banned and women have restricted rights, Saudi Arabia’s first feature film by a woman is a barrier-breaking work of many firsts. After a fight with a boy in her suburban Riyadh neighborhood, precocious 10-year-old Wadjda becomes fixated on a beautiful green bicycle for sale so that she can beat the boy in a race. Fearing repercussions from a society that sees bicycles as dangerous to a girl’s virtue, Wadjda’s mother won’t allow it. Wadjda, through a series of schoolyard schemes, struggles to raise the money herself and sets her sights on a Koran-recitation competition with a cash prize.
