PARADISE HILLS
A band of misfit girls plot to escape the fairytale island of Paradise when they realize that its picture-perfect exterior masks a far more sinister reality.
Waking up alone and disoriented on a strange, beautiful island, Uma (Emma Roberts) must piece together why and how she got there. The island is dominated by Paradise Hills, a bizarre finishing school run by the austere Duchess (Milla Jovovich). There, hundreds of troubled young women from society’s upper echelons—aptly dubbed Uppers—dress in prim white garb as they attend yoga classes, receive spa treatments, and eat meals precisely curated for their ideal mental and physical states. Uma’s roommates Yu (Awkwafina, The Farewell) and Chloe (Danielle McDonald, Patti Cake$) seem to be resigned to their new lives, and don’t immediately jump at the chance to assist Uma in her grandiose plans to escape. Also a resident on the island is glamorous pop star Amarna (Eiza González, Baby Driver), who takes Uma under her wing. When things go awry, Uma is faced with the chilling and menacing truth behind the island’s pastel façade and must risk everything to regain freedom for herself and her friends. Equal parts sci-fi thriller and pointed social critique, Paradise Hills is a dreamlike portrait of an authoritarian future that feels all too believable.
CAST: EMMA ROBERTS, DANIELLE MACDONALD, AWKWAFINA, MILLA JOVOVICH
In Competition: First Feature Award
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