Evolution

2015, France, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, 81 min.

Ten-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother on a remote island in a village inhabited solely by women and young boys. In a hospital overlooking the ocean, all the boys are subjected to a mysterious medical treatment. Only Nicolas questions what is happening around him. He senses that his mother is lying to him and is determined to find out what she does with the other women at night. What he discovers is the beginning of a nightmare into which he is helplessly drawn.

Lucile Hadzihalilovic (Innocence) returns with a new journey into a mysterious world of childhood dreams, fantasies, and fears.

“Whether categorized as sci-fi allegory, surreal body horror, medical thriller, melancholy coming-of-age tale, or, in France, un film fantastique, Evolution is spellbinding from its magical first second to its enigmatic last.” —Laura Kern, FilmComment (Film Society of Lincoln Center)

Presented as part of the opening night of the ninth Imagine Science Film Festival, addressing the theme of “Light.”