“It’s my big feminist manifesto”: Alli Haapasalo on coming-of-age drama Girls Girls Girls

Girls Girls Girls is the Sundance award-winning second feature from Finnish director Alli Haapasalo following three very distinct young women over three consecutive Fridays in their final days of high school, during which viewers are allowed a glimpse into the highs and lows of navigating their love lives and friendships. It’s refreshingly candid, intimate and raw, capturing the intensity and immediacy of each passing moment plus the fast-changing nature of youthful emotions that can flare in anger and passion then descend into vulnerability and angst in the blink of an eye. Yet the film also remains free from the sense of foreboding and threat that has become somewhat clichéd in the coming-of-age genre – particularly representation of the female experience of sexual awakening.

The Upcoming caught up with the director about wanting to make an optimistic feature about three girls exploring their sexuality and finding their identity. She described the result as her feminist manifesto that counters the very idea of “coming-of-age”, casting and working with Aamu Milonoff, Eleonoora Kauhanen and Linnea Leino to create lived-in, authentic characters. She also discussed how the cinema landscape seems to go in circles in allowing female-led and queer stories to be told, as well as mentioning her next feature, which will tackle a period drama from a contemporary angle.

Sarah Bradbury

Girls Girls Girls is released in select cinemas on 30^th September 2022. Read our review here.

Watch the trailer for Girls Girls Girls here: