There’s a telling scene in Adura Onashile’s debut feature Girl, in which mother Grace (Déborah Lukumuena) shares a bathtub with her daughter Ama (Le’Shantey Bonsu). Her child wants to graduate from soaping her armpits to using a fragrant deodorant, but her mother is keen for her to remain a child, an understandably protective attitude since Grace had precious little girlhood herself, giving birth to Ama at just 14.

While the scene is understated, it’s a gentle moment typical of the tender regard that Onashile has for her characters, and typifies a new voice in Scottish film. Previously a regular collaborator with National Theatre Of Scotland, London-born Onashile moved north to live and work in Glasgow. Shooting in the city back in 2021, this tale of maternal love and immigration reflects insight gained by the writer-director from her own Nigerian roots. 

2023 saw the first public screenings of Girl, which premiered at Sundance and then opened the Glasgow Film Festival before going on general release in November. Onashile’s directorial debut offers a non-traditional view of Glasgow, capturing the city in a stylish, luminous fashion that’s a direct counterpoint to the simple, honest family narrative at Girl’s centre. 

Discover who else made the cut in the The List Hot 100 on our site or in our latest issue, available at all good stockists across Glasgow and Edinburgh.