North American Premiere
Left behind by her mother, 13-year-old Marija is settling into a new, small-town life with her grandmother when a violent encounter puts her in the orbit of the resident “It girl,” Kristina. Eager to fit in and impress her new best friend, Marija reluctantly joins the local modeling school where the popular girls seem to converge. But the school’s shady practices drive girls to dangerous extremes as they try to fit an unattainable mold and pursue the promise of a glamorous life overseas.
Blending social realism with striking, precisely choreographed stylistic accents, newcomer Saulė Bliuvaitė makes her directorial mark with this no-holds-barred take on the complex and volatile nature of teenage girls’ inner lives. She artfully pulls back the curtain on the fragile adolescent psyche as well as their innate sense of resilience. Amidst the chaos and toxic competitive patterns, she finds sparks of genuine camaraderie and raw female intimacy.
Golden Leopard: Official Competition, Locarno 2024
Presented by
Media Partner
Ieva Rupeikaitė, Vesta Matulytė, Giedrius Savickas, Vilma Raubaitė, Eglė Gabrėnaitė
Lithuania
2024
In Lithuanian with English subtitles
Self harm, bullying
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Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Justė Michailinaitė
Producer
Giedrė Burokaitė
Screenwriter
Saulė Bliuvaitė
Cinematography
Vytautas Katkus
Editor
Ignė Narbutaitė
Production Design
Paulius Aničas
Original Music
Gediminas Jakubka
Saulė Bliuvaitė
Born in 1994, film director and screenwriter Saulė Bliuvaitė graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre’s Film Directing program in 2018. Her recent short film Limousine (2021) received the Best Short Documentary award at the Warsaw Film Festival. Saulė is the co-writer and co-editor of the historical drama Isaac, nominated for a FIPRESCI prize at the 2020 European Film Awards. Toxic is her debut feature film.
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