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Poole Pride 2025

Portrait of Lady on Fire – Cert 15

Fri 6 Jun 2025

Part of our Poole Pride celebration 2025 - bringing Queer culture to Lighthouse cinema.

Director: Céline Sciamma Starring: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami

France in the late 18th century. Painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is commissioned by an affluent countess to paint the wedding portrait of her sheltered but headstrong daughter Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), in the hope it will find her a wealthy husband. While posing as her hired companion, Marianne is instructed to complete the portrait in secret, observing Héloïse by day and painting her by night. However, as the two women grow closer, their intimacy and attraction begins to blossom, paving the way for a simmering, star-crossed romance. A heart-breaking period piece told with a distinctly modern feminist energy, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the first female-directed film to win the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and cements Sciamma’s reputation as a world-class filmmaker.

French language film with English subtitles.