Monday Night Film Series presents: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Winner of both the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay Awards at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the fourth feature from French writer-director Céline Sciamma (Girlhood) is an exquisite portrait of hidden love, art, eros, and the gaze.

Set in 18th-century Brittany, Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows Marianne (Noémie Merlant), an artist commissioned by an Italian noblewoman (Valeria Golino) to paint a portrait of her reclusive daughter, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel, The Unknown Girl, The Forbidden Room), who is soon to be married. However, there are peculiar conditions of this assignment; Marianne must never announce to Héloïse the objective of her visit. Instead, Marianne is to act as a companion to Héloïse, escorting her on walks while closely observing her subject so as to render her likeness on canvas in secret.

Dissatisfied with her initial portrait, Marianne petitions her patroness for a second chance. In frustration and growing kinship, Marianne confesses the ruse to Héloïse, procuring her cooperation and allowing the women to forge a much closer bond – one that will lead to a passionate intimacy.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire | February 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Tilley Hall, UNB