Girlhood (2017)

Directed by: Heleen Declercq | 14 minutes | documentary, short film

The state or time of being a girl. In the short documentary ‘Girlhood’, Heleen explores what it means to be a woman. When can you call yourself a woman and where is the limit? Should there be a limit at all?

‘Girlhood’ starts with old images of Heleen. In the background we hear a telephone conversation with her mother. Heleen is emotional and they talk about suppressing feelings. Without too many words you slowly find out what this documentary is about. Subsequently, various young people have their say, all of whom have their own story when it comes to gender, femininity and what society requires of us.

‘Girlhood’ is an intimate portrait of Heleen in which the filmmaker tells something about herself based on others. Yet it is also confusing not to know exactly who she is. There are so many people speaking that it is almost impossible to distinguish. Perhaps this is in line with the current and universal subject, but from a cinematic point of view you lose focus.

There is too little time to breathe and let in what is being said and the rhythm of the film lacks variety which makes it feel like you are constantly walking the same circle. Despite the topicality and intimacy of the film, ‘Girlhood’ only manages to highlight a fraction of the subject.