With Portrait of Lady on Fire French director Céline Sciamma established herself as one of the most exciting and prominent filmmakers working. For those who have followed her career they will know that she has developed to this position through a series of groundbreaking films: groundbreaking because they foreground female friendship and desire with a cinematic storytelling which is as refreshing as it is enthralling. She also captures the frailties, intensities and insecurities of youth particularly in her early films and writing for other directors. We've created Céline Sciamma - Portrait of a Filmmaker on Fire - a mini season of her work you can enjoy online.

Winner of Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at Cannes (where it received rave reviews and was widely considered the best film of the festival), Céline Sciamma’s striking fourth feature is an exquisite tale of female desire, hidden love, art, and the gaze.

Set in 18th century Brittany, it follows Marianne (Noémie Merlant), an artist commissioned by Héloïse’s (Adèle Haenel) mother, a countess, to paint her daughter's portrait - a piece of art destined for her future husband (who she has never met) as testament to her charms. None too pleased with this custom or her situation, Héloïse has already refused to sit for another artist. The Countess therefore demands subterfuge: Marianne must pose as a walking companion to Héloïse by day, and capture her likeness on canvas from memory at night. Intimacy and attraction swiftly develop between the two women, even as circumstance conspires to drive them apart...

One of the most acclaimed films of the year, this is a stunning look at what we can create, how we can live, and who we can love.

Mark Cosgrove, our Cinema Curator, says:

"The response to the first screening at Cannes last year confirmed Sciamma’s status as the most exceptional filmmaker of her generation. A film of absorbing intensity which places female lives and emotions at the centre of its drama. A beautiful reframing of history, art and film - a modern masterpiece."

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