A GIRL'S STORY Acquired by Zeitgeist Films, Kino Lorber for North America
Tess Barthélemy stars as young Annie Ernaux in the Cannes-premiered drama directed by Judith Godrèche.
Zeitgeist Films in association with Kino Lorber has acquired North American rights to A GIRL'S STORY, written and directed by Judith Godrèche in an adaptation of Nobel Prize winning author Annie Ernaux's acclaimed Memoire d'une Fille. The film made its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim for Godrèche's nuanced direction and Tess Barthélemy's extraordinary lead performance. Zeitgeist Films will release the film theatrically at Film Forum in New York in Spring 2027 with a national rollout to follow.
While on book tour for her memoir in 2020, Annie Ernaux (Valerie Dreville) returns to her hometown of Rouen for a book signing. A sudden dizziness overcomes her when she arrives, plunging her thoughts back to the summer of 1958 when as a naïve young camp counselor, she first experienced the cruelty of other girls and the bitterness of sexual initiation. Journeying into a past she had once tried to forget, Annie reflects on the young girl she once was and the summer that changed her forever. Judith Godrèche, a major figure in the French Me Too Movement, directs her own daughter, Tess Barthélemy, in a heartbreaking, dazzling performance as young Annie.
The deal for A GIRL'S STORY was negotiated by Zeitgeist Films Co-Presidents Emily Russo and Nancy Gerstman and Jeanne Loriotti of Paradise City.
Russo and Gerstman said, 'We were deeply moved and impressed with this gorgeous adaptation of Annie Ernaux's powerful memoir by acclaimed actress and director Judith Godrèche. This is a story that will surely resonate with viewers everywhere, in no small part due to Tess Barthélemy's amazing and heartfelt performance. We're excited to bring this important film to North American audiences next year.'
'I am proud to partner with Zeitgeist, a women-led company, and Kino Lorber on the North American release of A GIRL'S STORY. This is not a French story; rather it is a universal story. I hope that my film, like Annie Ernaux's book, will serve to demarginalize women's experiences and our voices,' said Judith Godrèche.
'We are thrilled to have partnered with Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films, two distributors who understand the importance of championing ambitious, female-driven cinema. At a time when our industry needs films like this more than ever - films that challenge, provoke and make space for women's voices - we could not be prouder to see A GIRL'S STORY find such a strong home in the U.S.,' said Jeanne Loriotti.
Written and directed by Judith Godrèche, A GIRL'S STORY is a Windy Production, Moana Films production in co-production with UMEDIA. The film is produced by Carole Lambert and Marc Missonnier and executive produced by Christine de Jekel.
About Judith Godrèche
Actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and author Judith Godrèche has appeared in nearly fifty film projects. She began her film career in 1981 with Nadine Trintignant's film Next Summer, and has since gone on to take roles in cinema, television and theatre. Nominated several times for the César Awards, Judith Godrèche has worked with many filmmakers around the world, such as Sophie Fillières, Cédric Klapisch, Emmanuel Mouret, Park Chan-wook, Patrice Leconte, Olivier Assayas, Jerzy Skolimowski, François Ozon, Tonie Marshall, among many others.
In 2010, she wrote and directed her first film, Toutes les filles pleurent, then returned behind the camera in 2023 with Icon of French Cinema, broadcast on Arte and coproduced by A24, a series she wrote and in which she stars alongside her daughter Tess Barthélemy. In 2024, she wrote and directed the short film Moi aussi, which opened Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival, and features some of the people who had written to her to testify about the sexual and sexist violence they had suffered.
About Zeitgeist Films
Zeitgeist Films is a New York-based distribution company founded in 1988 which acquires and distributes independent films from the U.S. and around the world. In 2017, Zeitgeist entered into a multi-year strategic alliance with film distributor Kino Lorber.
Zeitgeist has distributed early films by such directors as Todd Haynes, Christopher Nolan, Francois Ozon, Olivier Assayas, Laura Poitras, Atom Egoyan and the Quay Brothers. Their catalog includes films from filmmakers including Margerethe Von Trotta, Ken Loach, Guy Maddin, Derek Jarman, Peter Greenaway, Yvonne Rainer, Andrei Zyvagintsev, Astra Taylor and Raoul Peck. Previous Zeitgeist Films releases in association with Kino Lorber include Alex Dean's Bombshell, the Hedy Lamarr Story, Blerta Basholli's Hive, the 'final' Ken Loach feature The Old Oak and most recently Ido Fluk's Köln 75.
Five Zeitgeist films have been nominated for Academy Awards and one, Nowhere in Africa, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Their films have been honored by festivals throughout the world with Grand Prizes at Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Tribeca, and IDFA in Amsterdam. The Museum of Modern Art honored Zeitgeist with a month-long, 20th anniversary retrospective of their films in 2008.
About Kino Lorber
With a library of over 4,000 titles, Kino Lorber has been a leader in independent art house distribution for over 45 years, releasing 30 films per year theatrically and garnering 16 Academy Award nominations since the year 2000, including one Oscar win in 2026 for Best Documentary Feature for Mr. Nobody Against Putin. Kino Lorber is part of Kino Lorber Media Group, which also includes leading international series streamer MHz Choice and Kino Film Collection, a subscription service for film lovers showcasing new releases direct from theaters plus curated international, indie, and documentary films and newly restored classics from the Kino Lorber library. Additionally, the company brings hundreds of titles annually to the home entertainment and educational markets through digital and physical media releases. The Kino Lorber Media Group, encompassing Kino Lorber, Kino Film Collection and MHz Choice, acquires and presents more international content than any other independent media company in the U.S.
