Tags archives: Sebastien Lifshitz
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3 years ago
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Courtesy of Music Box Films
The subject of Sebastien Lifshitz’s sweet, sad documentary Little Girl, 8-year-old Sasha lives in rural France with her parents and siblings. We first see her carefully trying on various items of clothing and accessories, a popular pastime for most kids, but especially important to her.
Early in the film, we witness a conversation in which Sasha’s mother, Karine, tells a local doctor that at the age of two, her son insisted, “When I grow up I’ll be a girl,” and has never wavered from that certainty. The doctor asks Karine if she wished for a girl during her pregnancy, as if this might explain Sasha’s gender identification (!). Distraught, Karine admits that she did hope for a girl and that she has felt guilty ever since.
Thus begins Lifshitz’s poignant, pointed film. Shot in verité style without narration or identifying captions, Little Girl documents through conversations, interviews and fly-on-the-wall footage the struggles of a tirelessly devoted mother who wants nothing more than happiness and a semblance of normal childhood for her sensitive, intelligent child. Unfortunately, it’s a steep uphill battle for Karine, Sasha, and the rest of the family.
Courtesy of Music Box Films
Karine takes Sasha to a sympathetic psychologist in Paris, who assures her that the desire for a girl during pregnancy has nothing to do with Sasha’s gender identification, and that there are many children like her. Sasha, who stoically admits that “Secon[...]
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