New erotic revolution on our screens. After the success of The Eventawarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, director Audrey Diwan takes on the myth of Emmanuelle for her next film, whose Vanity Fair exclusively unveils the trailer. Farewell to the outdated exoticism of Bangkok. This new version is set in a luxury hotel in Hong Kong, where the heroine, played by César-winning actress Noémie Merlant, is tasked with inspecting the operation. In this chic setting, perfected to the nearest millimeter, she crosses paths with the director (Naomi Watts), a very liberated client (Chacha Huang) and a mysterious stranger (Will Sharpe, seen in Black Pond et The White Lotus).
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Modernizing the look
It was at the suggestion of her producers that Audrey Diwan immersed herself in readingEmmanuellethe novel by Marayat Bibidh, published under a pseudonym in 1959. The author recounts the sexual adventures of a young woman, following her companion to Thailand. Like the first adaptation, a symbol of a sexual revolution in the 70s, this reinterpretation is intended to reflect the times. “In our society which is devoured by images of violent pornography, which have the will to say everything, to show everything, I wondered if an erotic film could exist and why it would be interesting”, Audrey Diwan tells us.
The director stages this quest for female desire, in a world saturated with representations and injunctions, by adopting the point of view of a thirty-something. She chose Noémie Merlant as the main actress: “I like her absolute frankness, her total commitment, the clarity of her thinking,” she explains. More than just a headliner, the actress of Portrait of a Lady on Fireherself a director, was a partner of choice for addressing all the issues of the feature film, particularly on how to question the gaze and film desire. The screenplay was written in collaboration with filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski (An easy girl, Other people’s children).
Emmanuelle will be presented at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, before being released in French theaters on September 25.
