Memory of a girl

Summer 1958: Annie Duchesne turns 18. She works as a caregiver in a holiday colony. She finds a group of friends, and together they celebrate parties and enjoy their youth. Annie is in love with H., with whom she has her first sexual experience. A night that brings lasting shock. Because from then on, H. ignores her, and she doesn’t know where to turn, leading her to seek comfort in others. She quickly becomes an outcast. What follows is exclusion, mockery from others, her own shame, and silence. It takes Annie Ernaux over 55 years to confront this "memory of shame" - through photographs and letters, she writes about a time that has burned itself into her body. A time that has shaped and defined her morals, her sexuality, and her entire long life. With unflinching precision, Annie Ernaux recounts her first sexual encounter - exploring themes of power, powerlessness, and submission.