Directed by Jacques Demy (1967)

“Pure pleasure, plain and simple. As the freewheeling joy of summer comes to an end, Jacques Demy’s magnificent musical panorama feels like the perfect climactic send-off to a time of year that’s filled with new connections, fresh possibilities, and dreams finally coming to fruition. Following a cast of characters in the seaside town of Rochefort, France, this ensemble pop-ballet glorifies the connections we can make on the day-to-day in the bright summer sun; the life-changing people we might meet while flinging ourselves through the streets of a small town, following the beats of our heart. It’s a punch-drunk, hysterically delightful filmmaking triumph that skips and swirls and sings with blissful reverie. There’s murder, there’s melodies, there’s Gene Kelly tap-dancing after the discovery of a spellbinding music sheet. Catherine Denueve and Françoise Dorleac star as the titular YOUNG GIRLS, accompanied by a cast of characters as they criss-cross and bump into one another throughout Rochefort, creating new tunes that come about like those of a jazz ensemble. Spellbinding musical numbers collide with manic depression in this look at young lives trying to make it out of their “dead-end” town. But what Demy does so beautifully is show how the yearning leads to the symphony- feelings that are so strong that the world becomes a dream ballet simply out of necessity. In sparkling, swinging, sensational fashion, this tribute to dreamers is a burst of euphoria- a full body high that’ll leave your feet tapping long after the credits roll.” - Presenter Zain Hasmat