A special event co-presented by The Bijou Film Board.
Dialogue: Filmmaker Saule Bliuvaite in person
“An impressively tough-minded debut feature with glimmers of tenderness and humor as female friendship takes root in a hopeless place.”— Guy Lodge, Variety
In the crumbling industrial suburbs of Kaunas in Lithuania, thirteen-year-old Marija (Vesta Matulyte) is mercilessly bullied because she walks with a limp. After being dumped with her grandma by her uninterested mother, Marija – together with rebellious Kristina (Ieva Rupeikaite) – is picked up by one of the many obscure Lithuanian modelling schools that promise slender young girls from desolate places a way out into a better life.
Saule Bliuvaite is a Lithuanian film director, screenwriter, and editor. She graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in 2018 and began her filmmaking career with several short films, while also co-writing Isaac, Lithuania’s submission for the 2022 Academy Award for Best International Feature. Her debut feature, Toxic, premiered in the international competition at the Locarno Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Golden Leopard. Since its debut, Toxic has garnered numerous international accolades and was nominated for the European Discovery – Prix FIPRESCI at the European Film Awards.
