A miller makes a momentous decision: he unknowingly sells his daughter to the devil in exchange for gold. When the pact is to be fulfilled, the devil is repulsed by the girl's purity. In his rage, he demands that her hands be cut off – a cruel act that marks the beginning of a long and arduous journey. Alone, wounded, and without a destination, she flees into a hostile world, but her will to determine her own destiny remains unbroken.

THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS (original title: LA JEUNE FILLE SANS MAINS) is Sébastien Laudenbach's animated feature film debut – a deeply poetic and visually stunning interpretation of the dark Grimm fairy tale. Instead of conventional animation, Laudenbach relies on hand-drawn images with flowing watercolor surfaces, in which each image unfolds an intense emotional effect with economical means. The music by Olivier Mellano and the voices of Anaïs Demoustier and Jérémie Elkaïm lend the film additional depth.

The film premiered in 2016 as part of the ACID selection at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Jury Prize at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. Further honors followed, including at the Bucheon International Animation Festival and the 2017 César Awards, where the film was nominated in the “Best Animated Film” category. THE GIRL WITHOUT HANDS is a radical, feminist work of art about self-determination, resistance, and hope.