18 Wonderful Films About Black Girlhood and the Coming-of-Age Experience

“Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.” (1992)

Perhaps the foremost film on Black girlhood, Leslie Harris’ “Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.” follows 17-year-old Chantal (Ariyan A. Johnson), a Brooklynite living in a housing project determined to make her college and medical school dreams a reality. However, her boldness and boss-like attitude do not prepare Chantal for the whirlwind that comes when she begins dating the suave Tyrone (Kevin Thigpen).

The teen romance is quickly propelled into chaos when Chantal gets pregnant and is forced to decide what to do next. “Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.” is about identity, dreams, and what happens when things don’t go quite according to plan. 

“Alma’s Rainbow” (1994)

“Alma’s Rainbow” didn’t get the distribution it deserved when it first debuted in the early 1990s. Instead, it took another 20 years for the film to be released theatrically (thanks to Kino Lorber and Milestone Films). Dr. Ayoka Chenzira’s film is set in Brooklyn in the ’90s and follows Rainbow Gold (Victoria Gabrielle Platt), a high-spirited teen looking to break away from the confining strictness of her beauty salon owner mother, Alma Gold (Kim Weston-Moran).

Alma’s past and fears for her daughter put a distance between the pair that only widens when Alma’s dazzling sister Ruby (Mizan Kirby) arrives on their brownstone steps after living in Paris for years. Ruby offers Alma a new perspective of womanhood and sensuality that enables her to define womanhood for herself.

When the film was initially shopped for distribution, it was ignored because no one wanted to see Blackness outside the confines of maleness and the gritty inner city. But Chenzira knew how important it was for Black girls and their mothers to have an open dialogue about the things that pained them. 

“Crooklyn” (1994)

“Crooklyn,” penned by Joie Lee, is a semi-autobiographical account of her girlhood in Brooklyn in the 1970s. Directed by her brother, Spike Lee, the film follows 10-year-old Troy (Zelda Harris), the only girl sibling in the Carmichael family.

Troy tries to carve a space for herself amid her rambunctious brothers and her parents’ strained marriage. The film takes place throughout one blissful summer that would reshape the Carmichaels forever. Though the film does not shy away from the hardships of financial strain and illness, much of Troy’s concerns are about outsmarting her brothers and bonding with her bougie Southern cousin.

“Eve’s Bayou” (1997)

With her debut feature, “Eve’s Bayou,” Kasi Lemmons was one of the first filmmakers to explicitly confront the implications of adultification on Black girls. Set in Louisiana in the 1960s, the lush film follows 10-year-old Eve Baptiste (Jurnee Smollett) as she recounts the summer her father (Samuel L. Jackson) was killed.

Precocious and curious, Eve contends with her father’s infidelities, her mother’s deep-seated unhappiness, and her older sister Cisely’s (Meagan Good) heartbreak — until she revolves to something about it.

“Cinderella” (1997)

At first glance, Robert Iscove’s TV film, “Cinderella,” isn’t much different from the traditional Disney feature. However, with Grammy winner Brandy Norwood in the titular role and the legendary Whitney Houston on board as executive producer and portraying the Fairy Godmother, the film showcased Black girls and women in magical settings long before the debut of Disney’s first official Black Disney Princess, Tiana, in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog.”

“Pariah” (2011)

In films centering on Black girlhood, romance and sexual awakening are often significant themes. However, when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation, like the rest of Hollywood, there is much lacking in the space.

With her debut feature film, “Pariah,” Dee Rees widened the scope for coming-age stories centering on Black girls. The film follows 17-year-old Alike (Adepero Oduye), who hides her burgeoning sexuality from her parents. Rees’ film forced the Black community to address rampant homophobia and fear-based religiosity. 

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” (2012)

Benh Zeitlin’s “Beasts of the Southern Wild” follows six-year-old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), who lives in an impoverished Delta community with her father, Wink (Dwight Henry). Though their community is desolate, Hushpuppy considers it “the prettiest place on Earth.”

When her father grows ill, the little girl must confront the world around her, but instead of harping on her impending orphanage, Zeitlin allows the audience to see the majesty of Hushpuppy’s world through her eyes. It’s a film full of magic and spectacular beauty.

“Girlhood” (2014)

Female friendship is one of the things that shape young women. For 16-year-old Marieme (Karidja Touré), the bond she begins to form with an all-girl gang hanging out in the impoverished areas of Paris makes her feel seen for the first time.

With a mantra of “I do what I want,” the girls wreck havoc on their community, but love and support one another. “Girlhood” is grim and violent. Yet, the bond Marieme shares with the girls becomes a utopia for her. With the film, writer/director Céline Sciamma dismissed stereotypes about people who look like Marieme. while showcasing a vulnerability rarely seen on screen for Black teen girls.

“The Fits” (2015)

Acceptance is one of the cornerstones of girlhood. The desire to have friends and find a space of belonging is paramount. Anna Rose Holmer’s debut feature, “The Fits,” follows 11-year-old Toni (Royalty Hightower), who spends her days hanging with her brother at a boxing gym.

However, when she becomes enamored with a girls’ dancing troupe, she becomes determined to fit in. Toni’s longing is so visceral that she’s even willing to succumb to the violent fits that seem to plague the other girls on the team, even though she sees how much they harm them. “The Fits” is about that girlhood desire to be older and to belong.

“Queen of Katwe” (2016)

Mira Nair’s “Queen of Katwe” tells the extraordinary story of a young woman from the slums of Uganda who becomes a chess master. The film follows Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) from her early days living with a single mother (Lupita Nyong’o) in poverty. Through Phiona’s discovery of chess and teaching by missionary Robert Katende (played by David Oyelowo), she sees a path to a different life.

“Queen of Katwe” is about what it means to aspire for more while recognizing that you belong wherever you think you belong.

“Roxanne Roxanne” (2017)

While many films have examined the emergence of hip-hop into the pop cultural landscape, Chanté Adams’ breakout role as hip-hop legend Roxanne Shanté is a rare examination of a young Black woman making her way in the industry.

“Roxanne Roxanne” addresses some of the unique social pressures of being a Black teen girl. Roxanne contends with a deteriorating family dynamic living in NYC’s Queensbridge Housing Projects and a predatory and abusive relationship that tries to cage her. Though the film is no fairy tale, it pays homage to talent and flow and what it means to rise when the world is trying to hold you down.

“A Wrinkle in Time” (2018)

Ava DuVernay’s adaption of Madeleine L’Engle’s acclaimed novel “A Wrinkle In Time” acknowledges the uncertainty of girlhood. The film follows Meg Murry (Storm Reid) trying to navigate her teen years while grappling with the disappearance of her father, Dr. Alex Murry (portrayed by Chris Pine).

Whip-smart and defiant, Meg has no interest in following a crowd. Instead, she uses her boldness and determination to embark on a sci-fi adventure to reunite with her father. “A Wrinkle in Time” declares that Black girls, just like everyone else, deserve a bit of magic.

“First Match” (2018)

When it comes to Black girlhood, girls’ relationships with their fathers are rarely examined. Writer/director Olivia Newman’s “First Match” follows Monique (Elvire Emanuelle), a teen who joins the boys’ wrestling team at her high school with hopes of winning back the affection of her estranged father, Darrel (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).

When Mo is introduced in the film, her rage and pain radiate off of her. However, the film is about resilience, the families we are given, and the ones we can choose if open to it.

“The Hate U Give” (2018)

Despite what society may suggest, Black people don’t think about race and racism all day. However, we also don’t shy away from the topic, since it can affect all aspects of our lives.

In George Tillman Jr.’s adaptation of Angie Thomas’ novel “The Hate U Give,” Amandla Stenberg portrays teen Starr, a sneakerhead and tomboy who has mastered code-switching between her working-class Black community and the white upper-class prep school she attends. Starr’s world shatters when police gun down her best friend, Khalil (Algee Smith), during a routine traffic stop. Starr must decide to either remain silent or use her voice to stand up for her fallen friend and many who came before and would come after him.

“The Hate U Give” is a nuanced perspective of racial biases in the age of Black Lives Matter. 

“Rocks” (2019)

Penned by playwright Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, Sarah Gavron’s London-based coming-of-age film “Rocks” is a marvel. The film follows Shola (Bukky Bakray), AKA Rocks, whose girlhood is shattered when her mother abandons her and her little brother Emmanuel (D’angelou Osei Kissiedu).

Since this isn’t the first time their mother has left them, Rocks isn’t initially alarmed. But as the days press forward and their mother doesn’t return, Rocks must navigate her new reality while leaning on her friends and keeping Emmanuel safe.

Gavron’s film has significant themes of adultification, but it’s infused with a deeply entrenched levity and sisterhood. More than that, for Black girls, “Rocks” showcases that it’s OK to ask for help.

“Selah and the Spades” (2019)

There is no shortage of films that showcase the polarizing time of high school. However, director Tayarisha Poe’s debut feature, “Selah and the Spades,” gives Black girls their “Cruel Intentions” moment.

The film follows Selah (Lovie Simone), who runs the Spades with her best friend Maxxi (Jharrel Jerome) at their elite boarding school, Haldwell. The Spades are tasked with getting their hands on coveted illegal substances and distributing them among the student body. When Selah takes sophomore transfer Paloma (Celeste O’Connor) under her wing, the high school senior’s obsession with perfection, legacy, and power begins to obliterate her mental health. As cruel as she is brilliant, Selah is forced to examine her actions and why she covets freedom over everything else.

“Cuties” (2020)

Despite the nonsensical media storm surrounding the film that was sparked by a poorly done film poster, French Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré’s “Cuties” spotlights Black girls while helping them to reclaim their girlhood.

In the film, 11-year-old Amy (Fathia Youssouf) has recently moved from Senegal to Paris. Desperate to fit into her new environment, she begins hanging around with Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azouni), the “it girl” of her school. With her devastated mother preoccupied with her husband’s impending marriage to his second wife, Amy, without guidance and with first-time access to a smartphone, begins grappling with femininity and the space she occupies between her strict Senegalese culture at home and the Western culture outside.

“Cuties” is a film that actually combats the hypersexualization of young girls — especially young Black girls. 

“On the Come Up” (2022)

The latest addition to the Black girlhood cinema canon, “One the Come Up,” is based on the acclaimed novel by Angie Thomas and helmed by actress and first-time filmmaker Sanaa Lathan.

The film follows 16-year-old Bri (newcomer Jamila Gray), a young rapper trying to find her place in the music industry outside the shadow of her late legendary rapper father. Bri is no stranger to adultification and hardship. The film’s themes include misogynoir, financial insecurity, addiction, and gang culture. However, Lathan focuses on Bri’s love of music and her youthful and fuzzy romance with her best friend, Malik (Michael Cooper Jr.).

“On the Come Up” is rare in that it addresses every aspect of Bri’s humanity without trying to shove her into a box.