THE DEBUT

“There's no denying van Brakel is unafraid to go out on a limb and present female characters in a way that still packs a punch.” -- MONDO DIGITAL

Pioneering feminist Nouchka van Brakel was Holland’s first successful female filmmaker, in the same league with Lina Wertmüller and Margarethe von Trotta. Her provocative, yet compassionate work comes to North American screens for the first time in brand-new restorations! Following Kubrick’s LOLITA and Powell’s AGE OF CONSENT -- only this time, told from a female perspective-– van Brakel’s THE DEBUT is the story of the impossible love between a teenage girl and a middle-aged married man. While thematically uncomfortable today, it is at the same time a glimpse into Dutch attitudes towards the increasing resistance of women to patriarchy.