“…Silence from a Sunday afternoon audience is a good thing with a challenging drama like “Orphans,” a stark, solemn drama about two adult sisters still coming to terms with the death of their parents and the emotional baggage. It’s a strong drama of heartache with two lead performances that are honest, blemishes and all…”Orphans” is the start of a promising directing career for Russo-Young, a true discovery…”
Steve Ramos -IndieWIRE

“”Orphans,” a striking… first film that simultaneously summons the spirits of Bergman’s “Cries and Whispers” and Brian De Palma’s “Sisters.”…”
Andrew O’Heir -Salon.com

“A sensitive & peculiar pastoral, Orphans manages to derive as much compelling energy from its locations & spaces (of the wide open & claustrophobic variety alike) as from its two terrific lead actresses, a rarity these digital days.”
-Andrew Bujalski

“…an evocative, character-driven feature…”
-The Daily Texan

“..Orphans is beautifully shot, and the performances of both women seemed heartbreakingly real, with a tentativeness that seemed straight from the heart … An early sequence, in which the sisters are happily doing each other’s hair one minute, displaying an intimacy only siblings understand, then sitting far apart on a couch, as though they barely know one another, says more about familial relationships than most filmmakers can manage in 90 minutes…”
Chris Kaltenbach -Baltimore Sun Blog

“…Russo-Young’s vision is well-rewarded by the Special Jury Award, and it should affirm the young director’s rise in a new American independent cinema.”
-PopMatters online