The debut feature-length film Rodeo by the French director and screenwriter Lola Quivoron is set in the moto-culture of the suburbs of Paris, where a fearless female biker manages to completely shake up the men’s motorcycle club. Julia is young and maladjusted, and her greatest passion is motorcycle riding. The film begins with a sequence in which Julia defiantly confronts a couple of young men from the suburbs, who try to prevent her from going her way. That way involves getting wheels – and so she races down the highway driving a stolen Honda. Even though the world of motorcyclists who perform stunts is a real men’s club, Julia doesn’t give up and visits illegal moto-gatherings, so-called “rodeos”.

What at first seems to be the familiar template of coming-of-age movies – the one about finding your tribe and spending time on dangerous streets – soon turns out to be much more than that.