Le teen film, c'est ma culture : Céline Sciamma and the American Teen Movie

Abstract

ABSTRACT: On the release of Naissance des pieuvres ( Water Lilies , 2007), director and screenwriter Céline Sciamma likened her tale of female sexual awakening to American sex quest romp American Pie (Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz, 1999). With Bande de filles ( Girlhood , 2014), Sciamma continues her engagement with le teen film . I examine the various ways in which Sciamma's films invoke elements of the American teen movie. I argue that Sciamma's films call to be read alongside and as examples of the transnational teen movie, thus decoupling the category from its predominant association with American cinema.