It’s intriguing that two of the strongest films released into cinemas this year – Gaelic language Irish feature The Quiet Girl, following on from French filmmaker Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman – are seen from the viewpoint of sensitive young girls.

The Quiet Girl. Photo © Madman Films

Most films starring children are aimed at the pint-sized demographic and its parents. The logic is clear: young audience members relate to characters they see as being like themselves. But adult films with child protagonists are relatively uncommon, which begs the question, why? It’s certainly not because their stories and the feelings they express are any less valuable, stimulating or relatable than those of their elders. Childhood is – obviously – something everyone has in common. Yet it’s a life stage we often find all too easy to forget.

It’s notable how many of those few child-centric films that do manage to get made are memorable. Off the top of my head, I think of allegorical films like Hayley Mills’ vehicle Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and the Gunter Grass adaptation The Tin Drum (1979). Or of François Truffaut’s debut The 400 Blows, Lynne...