Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Early Doors) 15

"Sciamma brings the erotic together with the cerebral … I was on the edge of my seat.”

★★★★★ The Guardian

A vivid portrait of the stolen romantic relationship between two young women played by Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. The pair have a persuasive on-screen connection which gives this affair a life of its own.

Set in Brittany in 1760 Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride-to-be and Marianne must paint her without her knowledge. She observes her by day and secretly paints her at night. Intimacy and attraction grow between the two women as they share Héloïse’s first and last moments of freedom, all whilst Marianne paints the portrait that will end it all.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire was one of the major hits at 2019’s Cannes Film Festival, where it received a Queer Palm as well as the award for best screenplay.