The most daunting task for the film was to obtain the rights to the Rihanna song Diamonds, written by Sia. The sequence featuring the song, where the girls lip sync to the lyrics, was shot first before Céline Sciamma obtained the rights. Rihanna and Sia gave them the authorization once they had seen the sequence dedicated to the song, for a minimal fee.
The lead actresses, Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh and Mariétou Touré, had no prior acting experience when they were scouted on the streets for the film. They all made their feature film debut here.
Céline Sciamma was inspired by teenage girls that she would regularly see hanging out in the vicinity of Paris area shopping centers and train stations. Wanting to delve deeper, she sought out their blogs and became fascinated by their aesthetics and styles.
Céline Sciamma's goal was to capture the stories of black teenagers, characters she claims are generally underdeveloped in French films, and lack representation in French cinema overall.
It took around four months to cast all of the prominent roles in the film, and black actresses were sought from the streets of Paris. An important part of the casting process was that the girls not only performed comfortably in front of the camera but also had good chemistry with each other.
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