PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE (PORTRAIT DE LA JEUNE FILLE EN FEU) Special Screenings

1760, France. Marianne arrives at a seaside villa, commissioned with a difficult task — to create a wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young lady fresh from a convent and betrothed to a man she’s never met. Instructed to secretly paint the reluctant bride, Marianne spends the days as Héloïse’s walking companion and paints her by memory at night. The intimacy between the women smolders during Héloïse’s final moments of independence.

Filmmaker Céline Sciamma (GIRLHOOD) ignites the screen (and the female gaze) with a bold, layered tale of self-discovery, memory and freedom. Exquisite cinematography and absorbing performances by Noemi Merlant and Adéle Haenel evoke feelings of a timeless affair in this cinematic masterpiece that will sweep you away. –Sarah Harris