In Urška Djukić’s assured feature debut a group of Slovenian Catholic schoolgirls cross over the border into Italy to stay at a convent. But this is not a spiritual retreat, rather it is an intense training exercise for their school choir, and the tranquil setting is offset by discordant notes among the builders repairing the convent and among the nuns who tend to a damaged statue of the Madonna.

Lucija (Jara Sofija Ostan) is attracted to the charismatic Ana Maria (Mina Švajger), but she is also fascinated by the bodies of the male builders, leading to a tension between schoolgirl “pashes” and a more mature if only emergent sexuality. This is complicated by the power dynamics of the choir, notably Lucija’s clashes with the choirmaster (Saša Tabaković), and her fascination with the sexual repression and Mariolatry of the nuns. The Slovenian title of the film, Kaj ti je deklica, literally translates as “What’s up, girl?”, highlighting the belief of the other characters that there is something wrong with Lucija.

The film’s great strength is in its use of music. This amplifies the tensions and emotions at work but also provides a sense of another place beyond worldly concerns and Lucija’s adolescent confusion. The film climaxes in a visionary crescendo but ends with a gentle coda that suggests Lucija has come of age.

“This elegant and mysterious debut from Slovenian director Urška Djukić, with its superb musical score and sound design, reinvents the cliched idea of a Catholic girl’s sexual awakening. … This is an utterly absorbing and outstandingly acted film.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.

“There’s a painterly precision to the cinematography, with certain tableaux evoking Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)’s woozy, languid eroticism. … This is profoundly sensuous cinema; the only music is choral singing and the soundtrack is alive with whispers, sighs and the chirping of crickets.” – Laura Venning, Little White Lies.