Filled with powerful performances, Novitiate is about a young girl's first initiation with love, in this case with God. Raised by a non-religious, single mother in rural Tennessee in the 1950s, a scholarship to Catholic school soon finds Cathleen drawn into the mystery and romanticism of a life devoted to God. As she progresses from the postulant to the novitiate stage of training, she finds her faith repeatedly challenged by the harsh, often inhumane realities of being a servant of God. With the dawn of the Vatican II era, Cathleen finds herself struggling with issues of faith, sexuality and radical changes in the Church which threaten the course of nuns' lives.

Critic Reviews For Novitiate

• ""Novitiate" is challenging, uncomfortable, violent, simple in its message about transformative mind control imposed on youth, superbly acted and technically flawless." –

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

• " Most films, especially mainstream ones, are about the forces that whirl around characters. “Novitiate” grapples with what's going on inside them." – Calvin Wilson , St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• *" While the story is effective in delving into that more human side to one's personal relationship with religion, its characters could be portrayed with more depth and respect." –

Amelie Lasker , FF2 Media