The first feature film by American director Margaret Bates, "The Apprentice", casts Margaret Qualley, a second-generation star who became famous for co-starring with the famous director Spike Jonze, to play a girl born in an atheist family who goes to a monastery to become a nun. She begins a dialectic of her own beliefs, but also discovers her inner desires in the repressive discipline. Margaret Qualley's spiritual and eye-catching performance is not inferior to that of Oscar winner Melissa Leo. The film boldly touches on religious and gay issues, presenting the truth of faith and love that transcends gender, and won praise from the Sundance Film Festival Jury Special Award.