Girls From Above, The

Bérangère McNeese is a director and actress who is both Belgian and American. In 2015, she wrote, directed, and produced her first short film, THE SLEEP OF THE AMAZONS, which was selected for and received awards at several festivals throughout the world. Her second short film, LES CORPS PURS, which was co-written and co-directed with Guillaume de Ginestel, followed the same path. MATRIOCHKAS, her third short film, was preselected for the Césars and received the Magritte Award for Best Short Film in 2020. It also received the Best of Fest prize at the Palm Springs Film Festival and the Best Director award at the Rhode Island Film Festival. THE GIRLS FROM ABOVE is her first feature film.

Director’s Note

The film originated in part from my first short film, where I introduced the idea of a marginal group of young women living as roommates and forming a closed group governed by strict rules. With this clique of women, I wanted to show how group dynamics can redefine roles. For instance, having been a victim in one group does not stop you from becoming a tormentor in another. […] The idea wasn’t to present a black and white depiction of relations between men and women, but a strong friendship between women who have elected to come into contact with violent environments. In fact, the film raises the question of allies. Some of the male characters step up as such: among them, there’s the bouncer who takes the girls home to protect them, or also Mehdi, the young waiter. The film is very clear about the girls’ decision to take a stance against men […] Nonetheless, showing up with Mehdi, whom she likes a lot, Héloïse reshuffles the cards. Being less dogmatic herself, she brings this open-mindedness to the group. The film intends to recount this gradual opening-up to others as well.