Level 16

Directed By Danishka Esterhazy

In a highly regimented boarding school, a pair of students discover that things are not as they seem.

  • ABOUT
  • BIO
Trapped in a mysterious boarding school, 16-year-old Vivien and Sophia embark on a dangerous search to uncover the horrifying truth behind their imprisonment. Soon running for their lives, the girls must save themselves or die trying. Featuring striking imagery and charismatic performances, this critically acclaimed, dystopian sci-fi thriller is an intense and furiously cerebral experience like no other.

Celebrated for her female-driven stories, filmmaker DANISHKA ESTERHAZY is a graduate of the Directors’ Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, the Talent Lab at the Toronto International Film Festival.


Esterhazy’s films have screened in festivals and theaters around the world and have been broadcast on CBC, Bravo, Super Channel, Movie Central, Showtime and NetflixUK. In 2017, Esterhazy was awarded the Amazon Video Filmmaker Award at the Sundance Film Festival for her independent film Black Field. Her dystopian feature Level 16 premiered at Fantastic Fest in September 2018 to excellent reviews. Level 16 also screened at FrightFest Glasgow, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, PanicFest and Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.


Danishka directed horror movie The Banana Splits for Warner Bros and the 2021 remake of Slumber Party 

Massacre for Shout! Factory. Both films were horror festival favorites that screened around the world.


In 2021, she won the DGC award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-

Series for I Was Lorena Bobbitt. She also won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction - TV Movie for I Was 

Lorena Bobbitt. 


Danishka directed eight episodes and served as producing-director on Syfy’s supernatural series SurrealEstate. She 

also served as producing-director for Syfy’s series Astrid and Lilly Save the World. In 2022, she directed two episodes of the hit Netflix series Ginny & Georgia. 


A dual American and Canadian citizen, Esterhazy splits her time between Toronto and Los Angeles.