Blood in the Snow Film Festival Review: LEVEL 16 (Capsule Review)

There is a very good reason why LEVEL 16 was the most anticipated film of this year’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival. This brilliantly conceived and executed story of female empowerment follows in the footsteps of Get Out in discussing the subtle and insidious ways our culture deals with traditional gender roles.

Watch as the girls of Vestalis Academy, a dark-future orphanage/boarding school, discover the brutal secrets behind their program designed to create the perfect submissive exemplars of feminine virtue. The production aesthetic, cinematography, and incredible nuanced performances will drag you into a world that is shockingly exploitative, yet all too familiar.

Danishka Esterhazy has absolutely established herself as a force in Canadian cinema, and she has released this film at the perfect time to capitalize on the importance of gender discourse in the current zeitgeist. You will regret missing out on Level 16, my pick to be a future cult favourite.

I will have more in depth coverage of LEVEL 16 ahead of its theatrical release in March 2019. Stay tuned!