First Girl I Loved (2016)

Seventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her LA public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend Clifton - who has always harbored a secret crush - he does his best to get in the way.

Director:

Kerem Sanga

Writer:

Kerem Sanga

Stars:

Dylan Gelula, Brianna Hildebrand, Mateo Arias

8 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dylan Gelula	...	Anne Smith
Brianna Hildebrand	...	Sasha Basanez
Mateo Arias	...	Clifton Martinez
Pamela Adlon	...	Sharon Sacopulos
Tim Heidecker	...	Mr. Quibodeaux
Cameron Esposito	...	Jasmine
Erik Griffin	...	Mr. Maldonado
Jennifer Prediger	...	Assistant Principal Heather Wiggins
Ana Dela Cruz	...	Rita Basanez
Laura Patalano	...	Manuela Martinez
John Redlinger	...	Cool Guy at Bar
Jesse G. Louis	...	Cool Guy's Wingman
Dominic Flores	...	Jorge Basanez
Linda Victoria Romo	...	Lexi
Mariana Del Cid	...	Amanda-Panda

Storyline

Seventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her LA public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend Clifton - who has always harbored a secret crush - he does his best to get in the way.

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Plot Keywords:

best friend | high school | lesbian | lesbianism | friend | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

18 October 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Prva devojka koju sam volela

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

PSH Collective, Tilted Windmill Productions, Bee-Hive Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and won the Audience Award for "Best of NEXT".

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Soundtracks

Anthems for a Seventeen Year Old Girl
Courtesy of Arts & Crafts
Written by Broken Social Scene
Published by Arts & Crafts Music

User Reviews

First Girl I Loved - A Review

Kerem Sanga's First Girl I Loved is a coming of age story following confused high-schoolers trying to figure themselves out in respect to who their friends are, sexual preference and how to accept who they are in the face of so much uncertainty and the constant world of judgement that is high school.

Anne, our protagonist, Cliff, the best-friend, and Sasha, the love interest, are like most high- schoolers in that they are confused about almost everything. We follow their stories through a mixture of flashbacks and flash forwards in an almost cyclic view as we see Anne coming to terms with her sexuality.

For those who attended school in any capacity, you will recall the confusion, the desire to fit in and the fear of judgment from peers whilst simultaneously attempting to understand ones likes and dislikes and to keep it all together with no less than a smile. Both Anne and Sasha comment on the pressure of how they are perceived by their peers with the under confidence of some of the characters and the ability to be unapologetically themselves becoming slightly frustrating for someone who wishes they too stood up for themselves when they were younger.

First Girl I Loved isn't all about teen angst and the confusing ride of the ups and downs of friendships. We are given an insight into the world of Softball with subtitles coming up for the hand signals given between a coach and his players and the comic relief in the text messages between the two girls. In a technologically advanced world the mobile phone has really been a big hit providing Kerem Sanga with another medium for the characters to express emotions, one which the younger members of the audience will relate to quite readily.

This heart-rendering and complex film comes away with the universal message that nothing can be that bad, even in the face of everything falling apart, with a little bit of self-acceptance life can be a whole lot easier.