Bleecker Street unveiled the official trailer for The Starling Girl, the independent film drama starring Eliza Scanlen as a 17-year-old girl raised in a fundamentalist Christian community in Kentucky who is trying to figure out her place in the world. Also starring in the film are Lewis Pullman, Wrenn Schmidt, Austin Abrams, and Jimmi Simpson.
Written and directed by Laurel Parmet, The Starling Girl premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and will be released in theaters in NY and LA on May 12 and expanding to additional cities on May 19.
Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devotion. With the return of Owen, an enigmatic youth pastor, Jem soon finds herself attracted to his worldliness and charm. Slowly, he draws her into a dangerous relationship that could upend their entire community.
Watch the official trailer for The Starling Girl.