In the thematically rich fantasy Level 16, teen-aged Vivien (Emmy-nominated actress Katie Douglas) and Sophia’s (Celina Martin) are locked away in a sterile top secret facility where they’re taught the finer points of “feminine virtues” by Miss Brixil (Sara Canning), a Stepford-like headmistress, and left to question what fate awaits them when they age out of the institution.
Wedding of-the-moment concerns (think The Handmaid’s Tale) to throwback aesthetics (think Joss Whedon’s criminally under-appreciated Dollhouse by way of Argento employing a desaturated palette), writer/director Danishka Esterhazy (Black Field, H&G) crafts a sinister allegory that packs a wicked feminist punch.
Film Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Vivien is trapped in The Vestalis Academy, a prison-like boarding school, keeping to herself and sticking her neck out for no one. Until she is reunited with Sophia — the former friend who betrayed her. Together the girls embark on a dangerous search to uncover the horrifying truth behind their imprisonment. Soon running for their lives, the girls must save themselves or die trying.
LEVEL 16
Studio Name: Dark Sky Films
Written and Directed by: Danishka Esterhazy
Produced by: Judy Holm, Michael McNamara, Stéphanie Chapelle
Cast:
- Katie Douglas (Compulsion, TV’s Mary Kills People)
- Celina Martin (Nickelodeon’s The Other Kingdom, CW’s iZombie)
- Sara Canning (Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, War for the Planet of the Apes)
- Peter Outerbridge (NBC’s Taken, Syfy’s 12 Monkeys, BBC’s Orphan Black)
- Alexis Whelan (Lucky 7)
- Amalia Williamson (TV’s Northern Rescue)
TRT: 102 minutes
Country: Canada
Rating: Not Rated
Language: English
Genre(s): Thriller
