Is there a greater joy for filmmakers than seeing their maiden movie winning awards? Over the weekend, Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s debut production, Girls Will Be Girls, clinched two awards at the Sundance Film Festival 2024—the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Entry category, and the Special Jury Award for Acting for Preeti Panigrahi.

Starring Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti, Shuchi Talati’s directorial venture revolves around a 16-year-old girl’s complex relationship with her mother. In the coming-of-age drama, Chadha and Fazal found just the kind of meaningful stories that they want to back. Their belief in championing unheard stories has been rewarded with the wins.

Chadha says, “It seems as if life is going in all directions at the same time, in a good way. I hope this gem of a film maps out its own journey.”

Actor-producer Fazal is already planning the film’s festival run. “Up next is the Gothenburg Film Festival and another festival. This win helps us dream bigger and take on some more stories that we want to push the buttons on.”

Crediting Chadha for advocating the movie, Talati says, “It’s fulfilling to see our story strike a chord with viewers and reviewers, igniting discussions about the often-overlooked coming-of-age encounters depicted on screen.”