Paul Verhoeven’s long-awaited follow-up to his 2016 thriller Elle is set to have its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, after its scheduled debut at last year’s event was cancelled due to the pandemic. Now, ahead of the premiere, we’ve received a first look at what’s in store.
Titled Benedetta, the ‘erotic lesbian nun horror’ film looks as explicit as you might expect in a new trailer from French distributor Pathé (watch below).
“In the late 15th century, with plague ravaging the land, Benedetta Carlini joins the convent in Pescia, Tuscany, as a novice,” reads an official synopsis. “Capable from an early age of performing miracles, Benedetta’s impact on life in the community is immediate and momentous.” However, as seen in the preview, Benedetta also takes in a young woman at the convent, marking the beginning of a “passionate affair”.
Benedetta’s titular nun will be played by An Impossible Love’s Virginie Efira, alongside Charlotte Rampling, Daphné Patakia, and Lambert Wilson. Directed and co-written by the Showgirls and Basic Instinct director, the film is based on a true story told in the 1986 book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, by Judith C. Brown.
Besides premiering at Cannes, the film is scheduled to receive a theatrical release in France on July 9. A release date for the UK and the US is yet to be announced.
Watch the Benedetta trailer below.
