One of the year’s most dynamic European discoveries, Lola Quivoron’s Rodeo is an action-infused reboot of the French realist tradition – a take-no-prisoners feminist drama about a young woman from the banlieue who wants in on the subculture of illegal motocross racing.

Charismatic newcomer Julie Ledru plays Julie, an inexperienced but fearless rider who’s also outrageously effective at acquiring fancy bikes by devious means. Making her own place in the very male ‘rodeo’ world, she joins a racing crew working for an imprisoned gangster, and bonds with his wife (Rodeo’s co-writer Antonia Buresi). With hair-raising action sequences dynamically shot by Raphaël Vandenbussche and a terrific, abrasively characterful non-professional cast, this audacious, emotionally charged drama flies the flag triumphantly for the enduring punk spirit in French cinema.