'Hadzihalilovic’s stunning debut describes the purgatorial existence of schoolgirls in a sequestered rural college' 'Meticulously shot by Benoit Debie with the chromatic richness of pre-Raphaelite painters - you can almost smell the moss and decay - and miraculously acted by its predominately young cast.' 'Hadzihalilovic film may make for a finally problematic feminist fable, but its unique vision conjures memories of the beauty of Franju`s surreal work and Laughton`s supreme symbolist invocation of childhood NIGHT OF THE HUNTER' W. Hammond - TIME OUT 48th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL GUIDE 'With dazzling performances from a largely pre-pubescent ensemble cast, 'Innocence' is without doubt the most disconcerting French debut of the year.' Jonathan Romney - SIGHT AND SOUND 'This much-praised debut feature by the French director Lucile Hadzihalilvoic is the story of an eccentric girls' school, with a kind of gothic relish that will be familiar of readers of Angela Carter: Eerie, strange and fetishistic.' Roger Clarke - THE INDEPENDENT INFORMATION 'Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s long-awaited Innocence looks, sounds and feels like nothing else out there... Her film is an enchantment pitched on the edge of fairy tale nightmare in a visual language that is at once familiar and totally alien. Charming, unsettling and never less than artistically electrifying, suffice to say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime piece of cinema and we can’t wait for her next film' Skye Sherwin - BBCi Collective 'Haunting, lyrical, atmospheric film that’s a bit like a cross between Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Village. In a good way... it’s a stunning accomplishment that works both as a compelling mystery tale and a haunting allegory about maturing into adulthood... The script recalls Picnic at Hanging Rock in its tantalising refusal to provide any answers and Hadzihalilovic creates an extremely intense atmosphere that, like Picnic, is at once idyllic and sinister... The film is beautifully shot by cinematographer Benoit Debie and Hadzihalilovic gets superb performances from her young cast, most of whom were, ironically, chosen from dance classes... In short, Innocence is an impressively made, intensely atmospheric film that is both haunting and compelling. Highly recommended' Matthew Turner - VIEW LONDON '... bewitchingly strange... Buñuel meets Angela Carter meets Enid Blyton' Jonathan Romney - INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'INNOCENCE is certainly one of the most boldly conceived films in recent French cinema' Jonathan Romney - THE INDEPENDENT 'The most remarkable cinema debut of recent times…a semi-surreal girls-school fantasy of troubling erotic inference' Nick James - SIGHT AND SOUND 'Hadzihalilovic’s distinctive feature debut... a brilliant and troubling film' Wendy Ide - UNCUT 'Mysterious, unnerving and lingering in its impact' Kevin Harley - TOTAL FILM 'A film of exceptional originality that establishes its director-writer as an audacious talent. Among the current class of young French film-makers, Hadzihalilovic is definitely the head girl' Jonathan Romney - SIGHT AND SOUND 'An altogether enigmatic, discomforting and brilliant film' Demetrios Matheou - THE SUNDAY TIMES 'An unnerving study of childhood femininity... remarkable film... beautifully enigmatic...' Cath Clarke - DAZED AND CONFUSED