Q&A with Ramzi Ben Sliman on March 7

Twelve-year-old Neneh (Oumy Bruni Garrel, as talented a young dancer as she is an actor) simply wants to dance ballet—but, as a Black girl attempting to find a foothold in a historically White cultural milieu and secure the support that her talent clearly merits, the obstacles she faces seem overwhelming. This crowd-pleasing feature by writer-director Ramzi Ben Sliman follows Neneh as she enters a ballet boarding school where the majority of administrators and teachers persist in believing that Black women have no place onstage as part of the classical repertoire. With encouragement from her patient father, Fred (Steve Tientcheu), and under the watchful gaze of teacher and legendary dancer Marianne Bellage (Maïwenn), Neneh finds herself—and her place—in this inspiring story about overcoming systemic disadvantages on the path to artistic achievement.