Sixteen-year-old Jeanne escapes from a foster home and hides in a film studio, where an

adaptation of The Snow Queen is being shot. She becomes fascinated by Cristina, the

temperamental actress in the leading role, and as she gets involved in the production,

dangerously grows close to her. This contemporary take on Andersen’s fairy tale is a dreamlike

and dark coming-of-age story about the loss of childhood innocence amid the tangled labyrinths

of adult desire and control. Lucile Hadžihalilović’s film within a film, featuring Marion Cotillard

and Gaspar Noé, won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale.

Lucile Hadžihalilović

Lucile Emina Hadžihalilović (b. 1961) was born in France to a Bosnian family and raised in

Morocco. She studied art history and film directing, and since the late 20th century has worked

as a director, editor, screenwriter, and actress. She gained international recognition with films

such as Earwig (2021), Innocence (2004), and Evolution (2015). Her short La Bouche de Jean-

Pierre (1996) remains a landmark work to this day. Hadžihalilović also frequently collaborates

with her partner, Gaspar Noé, contributing as a screenwriter to his films.