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25
Sing Street (2016)
7.9/10on IMDb
Released
Starting a band gives a Dublin schoolboy permission to keep changing his appearance, sound and ambitions. The songs make imitation part of learning rather than evidence of fraud. Its 1980s escape fantasy is buoyant, with family disappointment and limited prospects supplying something concrete to push against.
26
Close (2022)
7.8/10on IMDb
Released
Two boys' easy physical closeness becomes something they have to interpret under other children's scrutiny. Eden Dambrine makes the shift from instinctive affection to self-conscious distance distressingly legible. Lukas Dhont's film is exceptionally painful, with suicide and grief central; its insight into friendship is not a promise of gentle viewing.
27
Girlhood (2014)
6.9/10on IMDb
Released
Marieme finds a different way to occupy space with a group of girls whose company gives her room to perform confidence. Karidja Touré makes exhilaration and constrained choices coexist. Céline Sciamma observes a Black teenager's Parisian surroundings without pretending friendship erases racism, money or gendered expectations.
28
The Quiet Girl (2022)
7.7/10on IMDb
Released
A temporary stay with relatives lets a neglected child encounter care in small, repeatable actions. Catherine Clinch gives silence changing meanings as Cáit's trust grows. The Irish-language film is quiet rather than slight: meals, chores and permission to ask a question become the structure of a different possible childhood.
29
The President's Cake (2026)
7.5/10on IMDb
Released
Lamia's compulsory search for birthday-cake ingredients turns a child's errand into an education in scarcity and authority. Hasan Hadi's 2025 film reached wider cinemas in 2026, following children through 1990s Iraq with humour as well as danger. Growing up here means learning the unequal terms on which adults will offer help.
30
Sorry, Baby (2025)
7.1/10on IMDb
Released
Eva Victor arranges Agnes's recovery in interrupted chapters, allowing friendship and absurd conversation to coexist with the aftermath of assault. It belongs at the adult end of this list: other people's progress can make your own stalled time feel conspicuous. Naomi Ackie's companionship offers something more useful than a tidy deadline for getting better.
