The Ice Tower

Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic

The Ice Tower

France-Germany-Italy, 2025, 117’
Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Cast: Marion Cotillard (Cristina/The Snow Queen), Clara Pacini (Jeanne), August Diehl (Max), Marine Gesbert (Stéphanie)

Berlin - Silver Berlin Bear - Outstanding Artistic Contribution (Lucile Hadzihalilovic)

 

This psychological drama with fairy-tale elements takes us back to the 1970s. Jean is a 15-year-old girl who has run away from an orphanage in a small mountain village. Her escape takes her to an unusual place—the film set where The Snow Queen comes to life. Jean is enchanted not so much by the magic of cinema as by the mysterious actress Cristina, who plays the leading role. Their relationship develops like a painfully beautiful dance, intertwining admiration, obsession, and the search for identity. The icy decor, snowy landscapes, and hypnotic atmosphere create a sense of a fairy-tale nightmare in which the viewer, along with Jean, is lost between desire and fear.