With Portrait of Lady on Fire French director Céline Sciamma established herself as one of the most exciting and prominent filmmakers working. For those who have followed her career they will know that she has developed to this position through a series of groundbreaking films: groundbreaking because they foreground female friendship and desire with a cinematic storytelling which is as refreshing as it is enthralling. She also captures the frailties, intensities and insecurities of youth particularly in her early films and writing for other directors. We've created Céline Sciamma - Portrait of a Filmmaker on Fire - a mini season of her work you can enjoy online.

Writer/director Céline Sciamma's (Girlhood, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Tomboy) provocative and stylish debut is an impressive coming-of-age drama that captures the anxieties of the early teen years.

Set in Paris, the paths of three 15-year-old girls living in an ultra-modern suburb meet at the local swimming pool, where love and desire make a dramatic appearance. The dynamics of their relationships gradually begin to shift as they come to learn the true meaning of arousal and the power of sexual attraction.

Mark, our Cinema Curator, says:

"It’s intriguing looking back at Water Lilies to see the launch of Adele Haenel’s star - her intensity and beauty is the object of the lead character’s desire"

---