My First Love

In her personal feature-film debut, Mari Storstein turns love into a political act in a story about longing, resistance, and the right to a dignified life.

Ella is 19 and ready to take her first steps into adulthood. She dreams of moving out and starting her studies, but when her application for personal assistance is rejected, she is instead forced to move into an institution – a place that quickly comes to feel like a prison. At the same time, she meets her first love, and an entirely new journey begins. My First Love is a tender coming-of-age film about breaking free and daring to cast yourself as the lead in your own life. With humor, warmth, and disarming honesty, it portrays the struggle for self-determination within a system that regulates who is considered entitled to a “normal” life.

• Josef Kullengård