What Makes Us Girls is a senior thesis short film being made for Boston University’s Production 3 class. What Makes Us Girls follows 17-year-old Arlo as she comes of age, struggling to act as a role model to little sister Millie while rebelling against the pair’s boy crazy mom.

What Makes Us Girls combines the family drama of Lady Bird with Eighth Grade’s themes of innocence and insecurity. The film hopes to inspire viewers to prioritize friends and family over patriarchy pipe dreams, a reminder that relationships with the women in our lives are just as important as the film bro next door.

What Makes Us Girls is unique because it presents a new perspective on coming-of-age as a teenage girl in 2024 while offering timeless themes of girlhood that are relatable whether you were born in 2003 or 1973.



About the Project

Ria May is a senior at Boston University studying film and television. For What Makes Us Girls, Ria is drawing inspiration from several of her favorite directors, including Andrea Arnold, Katie Found, Greta Gerwig, and Sofia Coppola. In such a male dominated industry, these directors have inspired Ria to make films that unapologetically center around womanhood, and all the complexities and joy that comes with being a girl.


Tristan Womach is a senior at Boston University studying film and television. His last project, Taper, produced for Boston University's Social Purpose Short class, captured the experience of a queer Black man attempting to get his hair cut in a new town. The project taught Tristan how to balance the visual style between comedy and drama. Tristan is most inspired by new naturalist films which utilize natural light to create beautiful images.


Lydia Evans is a senior at Boston University studying film and television. Lydia champions diversity behind and in front of the camera, with the goal of producing movies that provide representation to those who don’t typically see themselves on screen. Lydia was the producer of Swan Song, a short film that was awarded the $3,000 BUild Lab Project Action grant, and the associate producer for Fairy House, a BU College of Fine Arts thesis that was recently accepted into the Mystic Film Festival. Both films centered around women’s mental health in the arts and featured female-led casts.

Ash Costa is a senior at Boston University studying film and television. Ash has edited numerous projects, and is currently working on The Dolls, a 15-minute NYU thesis film that blurs the lines between hallucination and reality. As a transgender filmmaker, Ash is drawn to narratives that exhibit diversity and self exploration, exhibited in both the films that they edit and the screenplays they write.

Ariel Narayan is a senior at Boston University studying film & television with a minor in theatre arts. Ariel is a writer, director, and production designer, who is dedicated to diversity and representation on and off screen. Most recently she directed Swan Song, a social impact short film sponsored by the BUild Lab’s “project action” program. Her other notable credits include the music video she directed, Cemetery Fire, which won awards at the London Global Film Awards and the Las Vegas Music Videos Awards. Originally studying at the CFA for theatre design, Ariel has an extensive background in the fine arts, and is excited to be the production designer for What Makes Us Girls.

Meet The Team

17-year-old Arlo struggles to act as a role model to little sister Millie while rebelling against the pair’s boy crazy mom.

What Makes Us Girls

Short Film

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Events

Details

Credits

What Makes Us Girls

Short Film

Events

Events

Details

Credits

Editor

Producer

Director

Director of Photography

Production Designer