Coming-of-age is one of the most popular film genres, as it often manages to dissect, with depth and sincerity, the emotional challenges of its young protagonists approaching adulthood. Experiencing first loves, pursuing dreams and ambitions, dealing with problematic families and questioning self-identity are only some of themes tackled by these tales.

Cineuropa is proud to present a curated selection of six unmissable coming-of-age flicks. These films are brought to you in partnership with eyelet, a streaming platform designed to give cinephiles around the world access to the very best in independent cinema. Stay tuned for the new titles coming your way soon!

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Alba [+lire aussi :
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Ecuadorian writer-director Ana Cristina Barragán’s debut Alba (Macarena Arias), a co-production between Ecuador, Mexico and Greece, centres on the titular 11-year-old girl, who passes her days in silence, loves little animals and helps her mother dealing with her illness. The turning point shaking the child’s life takes place when she is forced to live with her father, after her mother is hospitalised. In his review, Cineuropa’s own Camillo De Marco describes it as “a delicate pre-adolescent drama, which sees a road to conciliation between a father and his daughter in the pain of loss.”

Bad Hair [+lire aussi :
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interview : Mariana Rondón
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Another Latin American tale, Mariana Rondón’s Bad Hair follows Junior, a 9 year-old with “bad hair,” which is curly and fizzy. He wants to have it straightened for his yearbook picture, aiming to resemble a fashionable pop singer. This puts him at odds with his mother Marta (Samantha Castillo). The more Junior (Samuel Lange) tries to look sharp and make his mother love him, the more she rejects him, until he is cornered, face to face with a painful decision.

The Class [+lire aussi :
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interview : Carole Scotta
interview : Laurent Cantet
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Based on the 2006 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name penned by François Bégaudeau, Laurent Cantet’s film centres on François Marin (played by the writer himself) and his fellow teachers, who prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighbourhood. Neither stuffy nor severe, his extravagant frankness often takes the students by surprise. However, his classroom ethics is put to the test when his students begin to challenge his teaching methods. Critically acclaimed, the feature opened the 46th New York Film Festival in 2008.

My Little Princess [+lire aussi :
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interview : Anamaria Vartolomei
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Eva Ionesco tells the tragic story of Violetta (Anamaria Vartolomei), raised by her grandmother (Georgetta Leahu). Hanna (Isabelle Huppert), Violetta’s mother, concentrates on her dreams to become a famous artist. Thus, she starts exploiting her daughter by transforming her into a sort of Lolita who becomes increasingly alienated from other children her age. Inspired by the helmer’s troubled relationship with her mother, French photographer Irina Ionesco, known for her controversial choice of using her young daughter as a model for erotic photo shoots.

Shahada [+lire aussi :
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Nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival, Burhan Qurbani narrates the fates of three German-born Muslims in Berlin that collide as they struggle to find middle ground between faith and modern life in contemporary Western society. In her review, Cineuropa’s critic Bénédicte Prot praised its “narrative virtuosity and rare visual inventiveness” as well as its exploration of “a little-known world, with an all-encompassing humanity.”

Tom at the Farm [+lire aussi :
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One of the titles competing for the Golden Lion in 2013, Xavier Dolan’s film revolves around Tom (portrayed by Dolan himself), who is in the grip of grief and depression following the death of his lover. When he meets the family of the deceased, it is revealed the mother was not aware of her son’s sexual orientation, or his relationship with Tom either, for that matter.

Discover new titles from Cineuropa and Eyelet here: cineuropa.eyelet.com