Film Screening: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Presented by The Alden – Foreign Language Film
Pride Month Selection
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019, France; directed by Céline Sciamma) in French with English subtitles

Set on an isolated island in Brittany in the late 1700s, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” tells the story of Marianne, a painter hired to produce the wedding portrait of a young woman called Héloïse, who is to be married off to a Milanese nobleman. Héloïse is determined not to pose for the portrait and resents the idea of her marriage, so Marianne must produce it in secret. From this situation blossoms romance between Héloïse and Marianne, and a sisterhood between the two and the household’s young maid. Cannes Film Festival winner for Best Screenplay. Rated R, runtime 121 minutes. These movies are programmed for adult audiences unless otherwise noted.