Portrait of a Lady on Fire

France in the XVIII century, 1770. On an isolated island in Bretagne, the young painter Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse without her knowing. On multiple occasions Héloïse's mother has tried for her to accept the painting, which is supposed to be a gift for her possible future husband to decide if he wants her as his wife or not. But Héloïse, who has just left the convent where she was confined until now, has always refused to be painted for him. Therefore, Marianne must observe her "model" by day, while she pretends to be a lady hired by her mother to keep her company, to paint her portrait at night. Day by day, the two women become closer as they share Héloïse's last moments of freedom before the impending wedding.

The film has got great praise from critics and audiences and has been up for several awards, winning even the Best script award at Cannes Film Festival.

The movie is written and directed by Céline Sciamma ('Tomboy', 'Bande de filles', 'Naissance des pieuvre'). The cast is formed by Adèle Haenel ('120 battements par minute', 'La fille inconnue'), Noémie Merlant ('Le ciel attendra'), Valeria Golino ('Rain Man', 'Il nome del figlio'), Luàna Bajrami ('L'heure de la sortie' and Cécile Morel, among others.