House of Pleasures

For his fifth film, Bertrand Bonello (TIRESIA) depicts a highly cinematic look at the final days of a turn of the century brothel when much of the Parisian sex trade was confined to grand maisons, populated by elegant madams and vetted clientele (including French filmmakers Jacques Nolot (BEFORE I FORGET) and Xavier Beauvois (OF GODS AND MEN)). Within L'Apollonide's walls, Bonello tracks the lives of the Madam (Noemie Lvovsky) and a dozen girls among them: Madeline (Alice Barnole) who is horribly disfigured by a client and becomes known as "the woman who laughs", Clotilde (Celine Sallette) the veteran who longs to be a "respectable woman" and Pauline (Iliana Zabeth), the newcomer whose eyes are quickly opened to reality. Using a bag of cinematic techniques which include split screen, time shifts and a modern soundtrack, Bonello has made a provocative and beautiful film on not only the world's oldest profession but also a commentary on history as remembered by art and literature.

A 16-year-old girl is thrust into the gritty, seductive world of the Apollonide bordello when she arrives to begin work at the famed Parisian brothel. Starring Céline Sallette, Hafisa Herzi and Iliana Zabeth. Directed by Bertrand Bonello.

Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Céline Sallette