From the first shot of its ten-year-old protagonist, “Tomboy” is a study in gender identity and expectations.

Young Zoé Héran grounds the film with an amazing performance as the lead character, who moves to a new neighborhood and self-identifies to the local kids as Mikael, “the new boy in the building.”

But at home, Mikael is Laure, and writer-director Céline Sciamma (“Water Lilies”) includes a full-frontal shot of the female-bodied child emerging from the bathtub to show us the conflict between the character’s two identities.

Laure has an overworked father (Mathieu Demy), a very pregnant mother (Sophie Cattani) and a tres femme six-year-old sister, Jeanne (Malonn Lévana), with whom she’s very close. In many ways their new home represents a new beginning and we learn next to nothing about their old life.

Back in the 1980s, actress Glenn Close portrayed the character of Albert Nobbs in a celebrated stage play — and the part stayed with her so long, she vowed to one day bring it to the big screen. It took 30 years but “Albert Nobbs” is finally opening in theaters next week, with Close reprising her role.

In the film, Albert Nobbs is a waiter at a notable hotel circa 19th century Dublin. A fixture there for 17 years, Albert is exceptionally good and devoted to the job. Yet Albert has a secret: Underneath the waiter attire Albert is really a woman.

When she meets mysterious painter Hubert (Janet McTeer) and strikes a bond, Albert realizes — perhaps for the first time in her life — she is not alone in the world.

Producers Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn admit “Albert Nobbs” was a difficult project to get off the ground, taking several years. For Curtis, who worked with Steven Spielberg for 15 years as his assistant, “Albert Nobbs” was the most difficult project of her life to jump-start.