Dark Sky Films Proudly Announces The Release Date and Trailer DebutFor Festival Darling with Wicked Feminist Punch
LEVEL 16 IN THEATERS AND ON VOD MARCH 1, 2019
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)
THEATER LIST (updated as of Jan. 15)
New York City – Nitehawk in Brooklyn
Yonkers, NY – Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers
Los Angeles – Laemmle Music Hall
Houston, TX – Alamo Drafthouse LaCenterra
Austin, TX – Alamo Drafthouse Mueller
Kansas City, MO – Screenland
Colombus, OH – Gateway
Phoenix, AZ – FilmBar
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING…
“Level 16 Channels The Handmaid’s Tale in the Best Possible Ways, Which Is Pretty Damn Scary” – io9
“The plot is pitch-perfect, complimented further by each member of the cast’s performance”
“one of Fantastic Fest’s best films…Don’t sleep on this one!” – BIRTH.MOVIES.DEATH
“Level 16 builds a compelling, complete little world in the halls of this institution that would feel right at home in a better-than-average YA novel, though here it’s perfectly scaled down for the requirements of a 102-minute movie.” – COLLIDER
“a well-meaning film with some appealing retro-brutalist dystopian design” – FILM JOURNAL
“Though the comparisons to “The Handmaid’s Tale” are likely to arise, Level 16 is an altogether different beast. At its core, the two projects share a common theme of women fighting oppressive organizations but, thankfully, in the case of Esterhazy’s film, there is some hope at the end of the story.” – QUIET EARTH
