In the organizer's words:

Hans-Christian Andersen's fairy tale "The Snow Queen" has been made into many films, from Soviet fairy tale classics to Disney animated films. Director Lucile Hadzihalilovic has now delivered a particularly free and contemporary interpretation with her new film "Heart of Ice". 15-year-old orphan girl Jeanne (Clara Pacini) escapes from a children's home to find a better life in 1970s Paris. She ends up in a film studio where her favorite fairy tale "The Snow Queen" is being filmed. Jeanne becomes part of the team as an extra and soon film and reality become blurred for her. The fairytale-like narrative logic leads the audience to labyrinthine places full of riddles and secrets, where dreams and reality merge. Jeanne quickly falls under the spell of actress Cristina de Berg (Marion Cotillard), who plays the Snow Queen. Cristina binds the girl ever more tightly to herself; she clearly shows Jeanne that whoever has the power here is overbearing. The film is a dark, fairytale-like melodrama about domination, obsession and sacrifice. Through the construction of the film within the film, the director also takes a clear, critical look at the power structures and dependency relationships in the industry. And the film shows the seductive power of the medium of film in the form of the icy-cold yet fascinating Snow Queen.

France/Germany 2025, Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Actors: Marion Cotillard, Clara Pacini, August Diehl, Gaspar Noe, 12+, 117 mins