Mémoire de fille
Paris, 2020. Annie Ernaux is invited to sign her latest book in Rouen, the city where she grew up. That return takes her back to the summer of 1958, when she was seventeen and a half.
As a girl from a Catholic family in the French countryside, Annie wants to break free from her familiar surroundings. She starts working as a counselor at a summer camp, determined to gain new experiences and push her limits. But the reality turns out differently. Among the other supervisors, Annie stands out for her innocence and naivety, which quickly makes her a target. The slightly older, attractive head supervisor chooses Annie as his next conquest and manages to seduce her to sleep with him. It is Annie’s first sexual experience, but the defloration is anything but tender.
The experience will haunt her for decades and the shame and humiliation will leave deep marks on her identity. By returning to her past, Annie tries to better understand the seventeen-year-old girl she once was, and to discover how memories can permanently nestle in a body.
The gripping French coming-of-age drama is directed by Judith Godrèche (Toutes les filles pleurent, Icon of French cinema, Moi aussi) and is based on the autobiographical novel by Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux. In her role, Godrèche’s daughter, actress Tess Barthélemy, plays seventeen-year-old Annie in 1958, making the confusion, obsession, and shame tangible, which have a lasting impact on her self-image and identity after the profound and formative effect of a first sexual experience. After its premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2026, the film was praised for its psychological depth, strong performances, and honest look at a defining moment in a young woman’s life.
