Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Festival de Cannes film poster
FrenchPortrait de la jeune fille en feu
LiterallyPortrait of the Young Lady on Fire
Directed byCéline Sciamma
Written byCéline Sciamma
Produced byBénédicte Couvreur
Starring
CinematographyClaire Mathon
Edited byJulien Lacheray
Music by
Production
companies
  • Lilies Films
  • Arte
  • Hold Up Films
Distributed byPyramide Films
Release dates
  • 19 May 2019 (2019-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 18 September 2019 (2019-09-18) (France)
Running time
120 minutes[1]
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Budget€4.86 million[2]
Box office$10 million[3][4]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (French: Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, lit. 'Portrait of the Young Lady on Fire') is a 2019 French historical romantic drama film written and directed by Céline Sciamma, starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Set in France in the late 18th century, the film tells the story of a lesbian sexual affair between two young women: an aristocrat and a painter commissioned to paint her portrait. It marked Haenel's final film role prior to her retirement from the French film industry in 2023.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.[5][6] The film won the Queer Palm at Cannes, becoming the first film directed by a woman to win the award.[7] Sciamma also won the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes.[1][8][9] The film was theatrically released in France on 18 September 2019.[10]

It was nominated for Independent Spirit Awards, Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the top five foreign language films of 2019. The film was one of three shortlisted by the French Ministry of Culture to be France's submission to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film.[11][12]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire was voted the 30th greatest film of all time in the Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll.[13][14][15] It has also been considered to be one of the best films of 2019 and of all time.[16][17][18]

  1. ^ a b "Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)". Festival de Cannes. 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  2. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (19 April 2019). "Céline Sciamma finally in the Cannes competition with Portrait of a Lady on Fire". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Portrait of a Lady on Fire". Box Office Mojo. IMDbPro. 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Portrait de la jeune fille en feu". The Numbers. Nash Information Services. 2019. Archived from the original on 5 September 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. ^ "The 2019 Official Selection". Festival de Cannes. 18 April 2019. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  6. ^ "Cannes festival 2019: full list of films". The Guardian. 6 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  7. ^ Richford, Rhonda (24 May 2019). "Cannes: 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' Takes Queer Palm Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  8. ^ Debruge, Peter (25 May 2019). "Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite' Wins the Palme d'Or at Cannes". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  9. ^ Pulver, Andrew (25 May 2019). "Bong Joon-ho's Parasite wins Palme d'Or at Cannes film festival". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 June 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference JPBO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Erbland, Kate (18 September 2019). "France's Submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar Could Be a Game-Changer". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  12. ^ Sharf, Zack (20 September 2019). "'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' Loses Out on France's Oscar Pick to Ladj Ly's 'Les Miserables'". Indiewire. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  13. ^ Vincendeau, Ginette (1 December 2022). "Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  14. ^ "Revealed: the results of the 2022 Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time poll". British Film Institute. 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  15. ^ Ugwu, Reggie (1 December 2022). "Chantal Akerman's 'Jeanne Dielman' Named Greatest Film of All Time in Sight and Sound Poll". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  16. ^ Mintzer, Jon Frosch,David Rooney,Sheri Linden,Lovia Gyarkye,Leslie Felperin,Jordan; Frosch, Jon; Rooney, David; Linden, Sheri; Gyarkye, Lovia; Felperin, Leslie; Mintzer, Jordan (6 April 2023). "Hollywood Reporter Critics Pick the 50 Best Films of the 21st Century (So Far)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Sims, David (4 December 2019). "The Most Enthralling Movie of the Year". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 18 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  18. ^ Knappenberger, Brooke; LeGardye, Quinci (7 November 2023). "The 100 Best Movies of All Time: The Ultimate Must-Watch Films". Marie Claire.