Brittany, France, 1760. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young lady who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride-to-be, and Marianne must paint her subject’s 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, while Marianne paints the portrait that will end it all.

Céline Sciamma (WATER LILIES, Cannes 2007 Un Certain Regard; TOMBOY, Berlin 2011 Jury Prize; GIRLHOOD, Cannes 2014 Directors’ Fortnight Opening Film; MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI, Cannes 2016 Directors’ Fortnight, Cesar Award for Best Screenplay) reunites with Award-winning actress Adèle Haenel for an intimate and deeply moving period drama.

“PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE is that rare movie in which every choice feels thought through, meaningful, and right…. Minimal but perfect, without an image, a glance, or a brushstroke to spare.” —Dana Stevens, Slate

“A subtle and thrilling love story, at once unsentimental in its realistic assessment of women’s circumstances and almost utopian in its celebration of the freedom that is nonetheless available to them.”  —A.O. Scott, New York Times

“PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE—the fire is figurative, but also real—goes beyond painterly beauty. It sees into souls.”  —Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

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