Céline Sciamma's sumptuously beautiful Cannes prize-winner is one of cinema's most compelling visions of the power of desire. Set in late 18th century France, painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is commissioned by an affluent countess to paint the wedding portrait of her sheltered daughter Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) so she can be appraised by a suitor across the sea.

Completing the portrait in secret, observing the resistant Héloïse by day and painting her by night, the two women grow closer. Their intimacy and attraction begins to blossom into a profoundly charged romance.

Seductive, devastating and irresistibly beautiful, this period piece with a distinctly modern feminist sensibility sees Sciamma (Tomboy, Girlhood) take her place as one of her generation's finest filmmakers. 

If you can't make this preview screening the good news is that Portrait of a Lady on Fire returns to our screen soon Mon 30 March // 20:00 *, Tue 31 March // 20:00, Tickets: £5 (full) / £4 (concession / * cheap night)

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“Céline Sciamma’s masterpiece….Sublime filmmaking makes this love story soar”
Katie Goh, Little White Lies

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“A superbly elegant, enigmatic drama”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

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“A powerfully original story of art and love”
Dave Calhoun, Time Out

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“Portrait of a Lady on Fire will set your world alight”
Anna Smith, Metro

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“A scintillating and sensual period piece...Explosively wild, transporting and sexy”
Katherine McLaughlin, The List

“A masterpiece...Devastatingly unforgettable story of love and memory”
David Ehrlich, IndieWire
“Haunting and downright revolutionary”
Isabel Stevens, Sight & Sound