Richa Chadha-Ali Fazal Production 'Girls Will Be Girls' to close 2024 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne

New Delhi: "Girls Will Be Girls", the debut production of actor couple Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, will bring down the curtain on the 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) on August 25.

Directed by Shuchi Talati, the coming-of-age film has received acclaim at several international festivals, including Cannes, where it was screened under Cannes Écrans Juniors, as well as its award-winning run at the Sundance Film Festival where it had its world premiere.

According to the makers, "Girls Will Be Girls" is set in a boarding school in a small Himalayan hill town in northern India. It follows the journey of Mira, a 16-year-old girl, whose rebellious awakening is intertwined with her mother's unfulfilled coming-of-age experiences. It stars Preeti Panagrahi and Kani Kusruti in the lead.

Fazal and Chadha, who have backed the film via Pushing Button Studios, said they are looking forward to the Australian premiere of "Girls Will Be Girls" at IFFM.

"We are incredibly honored that 'Girls Will Be Girls' has been chosen to close such a prestigious film festival. The journey of this film has been remarkable, and we are thrilled to share it with the Australian audience. We are certain the film will find much love the way it has so far internationally," said Fazal.

"We are beyond thrilled that 'Girls Will Be Girls' will close the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024. This film has been a labor of love, and it's incredibly rewarding to see it resonate with audiences worldwide. Thank you for the immense support and we are grateful to IFFM for choosing our film to close their 15th edition of the festival," added Chadha.

Mitu Bhowmick Lange AM, festival director of IFFM, said they are honoured to have "Girls Will Be Girls" as the closing night film of this year's gala.

"The section was specifically made as the film truly speaks of the current times and is an absolute true to the coming of age genre. The film has made such an incredible journey internationally and we are proud to present the film in Australia with its official Australian premiere at IFFM," she said.

"Girls Will Be Girls" is an Indo-French co-production, a collaboration of Pushing Buttons Studios, Blink Digital, Crawling Angel Films and Dolce Vita Films. It also stars Jitin Gulati and Kesav Binoy Kiron.

IFFM opened on August 15.