How to Build A Girl: Beanie Feldstein in Caitlin Moran adaptation

Teen movies have oft been reprimanded for telling stories of boys dreaming of bigger futures, but both 2018 and 2019 have proven to be years of progress for the female experience onscreen: Lady Bird, Eighth Grade and Booksmart – and those are just the ones that have made headlines.

The year ahead is already looking promising, too, with the news that the screen adaptation of Caitlin Moran's hit novel How to Build A Girl will be premiering at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival this September, starring Beanie Feldstein as Moran's plucky alter ego, Johanna Morrigan.

The book and the upcoming film focus on Morrigan's journey from Wolverhampton to London, on her steadfast mission to become a music journalist and a person she deems more exciting than the one she was born as – reinventing herself as 'Dolly Wilde'.

This marks Feldstein's third major role in the past couple of years, following her breakout performance as loveable best friend Julie opposite Saoirse Ronan in Lady Bird, and a leading role in Olivia Wilde's raucous directorial debut Booksmart. It makes perfect sense to close Feldstein's emerging teen trilogy with this.

How to Build A Girl also stars Emma Thompson as Amanda, Alfie Allen as John Kite, and Chris O'Dowd and Jameela Jamil in undisclosed roles. Moran co-wrote the screenplay with author John Niven, and the film will be directed by Coky Giedroyc – making this her third feature, and first one in 20 years.

Although there is no UK release date yet or further images, with such a sturdy production team our expectations are already sky-high for How to Build a Girl. Stay tuned for our first impressions from TIFF come September.