In an SXSW littered with feature directorial debuts, the runway for new voices to emerge has never been wider. While the opportunity has been there, however, the results have been mixed, at best. So you’ll have to understand my excitement when I came across a coming-of-age drama centering an Asian-American teen who becomes sexually liberated in Galveston, Texas, amidst her parents’ messy divorce. Mei Makino’s directorial feature debut “Inbetween Girl” features breakout performances from its young cast, instructional life lessons for teenage girls, and heartwarming growth that never feels mawkish or put-on but organic and tangible. 

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Angie Chen (Emma Galbraith), the focus of Makino’s brisk screenplay, is a sarcastic whip-smart artist attending an Episcopalian high school.

Continue reading ‘Inbetween Girl’: A Liberated, Clever Coming-of-Age Story [SXSW Review] at The Playlist.