SIMPLE PASSION (PASSION SIMPLE)

Wednesday, November 3 – Truffaut Theatre –10:25 pm

AFTER 10

Presented in Association with:
Strand Releasing,
Pyramide International,
Women In Film

Directed by: Danielle Arbid
Written by: Danielle Arbid
Based on a Novel by: Annie Ernaux
Produced by: Philippe Martin, David Thion (Les Films Pelléas)
Cinematography: Pascale Granel
Film Editing: Thomas Marchand
Cast: Laetitia Dosch (Hélène Auguste), Sergei Polunin (Aleksandr Svitsin), Lou-Teymour Thion (Paul), Caroline Ducey (Anita), Grégoire Colin, Slimane Dazi
International Sales: Pyramide International

“Since last September, I’ve done nothing but wait for a man — to call me and come to my house.” Laetitia Dosch brings a depth and gravitas to Danielle Arbid’s sexually explicit, clinical analysis of the female gaze in this story of romantic and erotic obsession. Boldly adapted from Annie Ernaux’s Frank 1992 autobiographical novel, Simple Passion recounts the story of a French literature professor and divorced mother who is gradually, totally, consumed by her sensual and emotional desire for a mysterious Russian diplomat brought chillingly to life by Ukrainian ballet star Sergei Polunin.

Born in Lebanon, writer/director Danielle Arbid moved to France at 17 to study literature and journalism. She has made several award-winning shorts and documentaries. Her first feature, In the Battlefields (2004), premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival and has won a number of festival prizes around the world, including Best Feature Film at the Milan Film Festival, Best First-time Director at the Las Palmas Film Festival, and Best First Screenplay at the Namur Film Festival. That was followed by Un homme perdu (2007), which also premiered at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and Parisienne (2015) which nabbed a Best Lebanese Director Award at the Lebanese Movie Awards, as well as a Best Actress Prize for Manal Issa at Les Arcs European Film Festival. Simple Passion was an Official Selection at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.