Akiplėša / Toxic

13-year-old Marija is abandoned by her mother and has to live with her grandmother in a bleak industrial town. There, the girl is bullied because of her impaired mobility. But Marjia knows how to defend herself, and her quick-wittedness impresses Kristina, who is the same age. As the two girls spend more and more time together, they decide to apply to a dubious modelling agency. Their dream of working as models leads them to self-harming behaviour, while their friendship grows deeper.
The camera keeps pace with the girls and the film‘s hard, fast beat picks up their rhythm as they move through spaces that are toxic in a double sense. Industry has left its mark and transformed nature into a desert-like concrete landscape; at the agency, the girls' bodies are expected to meet certain standards. They starve themselves and suffer. But do they have to fit in? The film provides Marija and Kristina with the freedom of movement and scope to embark on their very own journey of discovery.