Saule Bliuvaite’s Toxic, Golden Leopard-winner at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, hauntingly portrays two teenage girls, Marija (Vesta Matulytė) and Kristina (Ieva Rupeikaitė), who struggle to escape their bleak industrial town in Lithuania.   The film’s raw honesty, drawn from Bliuvaite’s personal experiences, sets it apart from conventional coming-of-age stories. Toxic captures the desperation of youth, exploring the extremes the girls will endure to find hope and freedom. The film’s refusal to follow predictable arcs bring the girls’ lives to the audience as a series of unfiltered, authentic moments.The plot centers on Marija, burdened with a limp and the stigma of being an outsider. She meets Kristina, a brash and confident girl with her own troubled past. Their rivalry quickly evolves into an intense friendship. Together, they navigate the perils of adolescence, from brutal body image standards to the toxic influences of their environment. They dream of an escape through the promise of a shady modeling school which preys on their hopes and insecurities.  Desperation meets determination, with every teen in the district vying for the final selection.  The girls are poked and measured as they practice their catwalk stroll: bulimia, ingesting cotton wool or even tapeworms considered a price worth paying for selection.  As summer unfolds, so do their dreams. Quietly and unannounced, life returns to what it was before.The film, both unsettling and deeply empathetic, looks directly at the teenagers, their families and dubious friends rather than down on them. Visually, Toxic is a striking experience. Vytautas Katkus’ stunning cinematography captures the desolation of the setting while emphasizing the girl’s vulnerability. The film’s atmosphere is heightened by occasional bursts of electro scoring, adding a sense of alienation and unease. Bliuvaite’s direction, combined with stellar performances from the young leads, makes Toxic a haunting, yet strangely hopeful portrayal of youth in a world that offers little but demands so much.Nicole Guillemet