Désirée, a black girl, is nicknamed "The Shark" by her friends. This nickname comes from her strong rebellion and her ability to win in the suburban city, dominated by the power of boys.
Acting
Esse Lawson's debut — raw, magnetic, barely controlled rage.
Direction
Genestal's documentary eye meets fiction; you feel the asphalt.
Director
Fabrice Genestal
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
One of the rare early 2000s French films centering Black female experience in the banlieue, predating Girlhood by 14 years.
Esse Lawson was discovered in a Paris suburb — she had never acted before and never led a film again.
FR
