Presenting a new generation of film directors from France.

STARTS BY THE POUND (100KGS D'ÉTOILES)

Director: Marie-Sophie Chambon
Details: 2019, France, 88 min, Drama 

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old physics whiz Lois wants only one thing: to travel into space. But heavy set people like Lois don’t get to be astronauts… Though she has a genetic predisposition to be overweight, Lois starves herself to trim down—and winds up in a clinic after a series of fainting spells. Here, she meets three girls facing their own stiff challenges: Amélie suffers from gender dysphoria, Stannah is in a wheelchair, and Justine is so terrified of electromagnetic waves that she destroys whatever appliances she can get her hands on. The girls form a motley crew, but they have one thing in common: they want to get out of the clinic. And when Lois reveals her plan to make it to Toulouse to compete at a national science competition for the grand prize of a zero-gravity flight, the girls band together to break free and make a dream come true. Acclaimed screenwriter Marie-Sophie Chambon’s charming blend of a heartfelt coming-of-age story and a zany road movie is an inventive and uplifting paean to accepting yourself without letting go of your dreams, lifted by stirring performances by its four young leads.

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