Interview: Nora El Hourch – HLM Pussy (Sisterhood)

Selected for TIFF’s Platform section (Toronto’s only competition section), French-born filmmaker Nora El Hourch pulled from some of her own narrative for her high tempo feature debut. Known domestically as HLM Pussy and internationally as Sisterhood, El Hourch delves into the intricate dynamics of friendship as it explores how three teenage girls grapple with the implications of the #MeToo movement in the context of their lives, where factors like race, social class, and cultural privilege can occasionally create divisions. At the center of it all we find Amina (Leah Aubert) — stuck in the middle, trying to fit and desperate to belong.

Fresh off the world premiere showing, I had the opportunity to interview Nora El Hourch who has been a long journey since her last film – the 2015 short film A Few Seconds — a Directors’ Fortnight and TIFF selection. We discussed the title, the complex dilemma of identity that her young female protagonist faces and El Hourch’s close proximity to the material.