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Directed by Kira Richards Hansen
Starring Rosalina Krøyer
Short film review by Monica Jowett
This Danish short film Damn Girl from director Kira Richards Hansen follows a 12-year-old tomboy who has a hard time dealing with being a girl. She has created a boyish world for herself, surrounded by her all male friends and struggles with the oncoming sexual confusion that comes with being a teenager.
Alex (Rosalina Krøyer) is obviously a tomboy. Her light blonde hair is messy and tied back and wears a tracksuit and trainers. She blends in perfectly with the boys she hangs around with as they barely notice she is actually a girl, and Alex openly mocks the other girls that wear low cut, figure hugging clothes.
The film captures these friends at the perfect age where anything can happen, on the cusp between childhood and young adulthood. With no grown-ups around them - and none are shown within the short film - there is no limit to their actions as they drink and smoke and live in their own world. Yet there is a constant feeling things will soon change for these friends, especially Alex.
In the opening scene, we see her drinking and smoking with a group of boys her own age; laughing and joking with her friends. This light hearted teasing lasts throughout the night, as they walk along railway lines, graffiti the walls and run around deserted fields. As the group of friends wander around, Alex and one of the boys walk together and eventually peel off from the rest to be alone. Alex wants to find the rest of the group in an attempt to be sure nothing happens with this boy, yet he is happy to be alone with her making comments about how he feels. There is a shift in tone as Alex is determined to stay as one of the boys and fights to stay that way.
The cinematography from Brian Curt Petersen is gorgeous, the night sky carefully lit by greenish lights as the friends mess around. In the night setting, lit up by unnatural light it further demonstrates this world Alex has with her male friends, as though it is completely separate from the rest of her life.
Hansen has beautifully captured the struggle and conflict Alex goes through in the film as Damn Girl makes a touching portrayal of the hardships of Alex’s tomboy identity. Through the eyes of a tomboy we still are shown the difficulties faced when on the brink of growing up.
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