As Coky Giedroyc’s coming-of-age comedy drama, How to Build a Girl, comes to UK screens, the British director talks about family, faith and making movies

About a year ago I arrived at the last minute (predictably enough) for a parent-teacher evening at my daughter’s sixth form, Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in west London, and stepped over the threshold to hear my name being called by the coolest cat in the hall by a mile (not so predictable).

I was, of course, thrilled but also confused; who was this elegant creature, and how did she know who I was? It took a few seconds to work out that we have a mutual friend, and have known one another at a distance for more than 30 years; and now our daughters were at school together.

Everything about her seems exotic, including her name: Coky Giedroyc. And also famous – the last name anyway – since she’s the sister of the comedian Mel, half of the “Mel and Sue” duo. But you don’t have to spend long chatting to her to realise that Giedroyc combines coolness with relatability, humour, common sense and a big heart; and all these qualities are on display in her latest movie, How to Build a Girl, out this week.