BIFF To Screen “House of Pleasures”
Bermuda International Film Festival [BIFF] will host a screening of “House of Pleasures” on January 29 at 7pm as part of its monthly film series, BIFFlixs. The film will be shown in the Tradewinds Auditorium at Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute [BUEI] on Crow Lane in Hamilton.
The film was selected to offer a taster of the type of film that will screen in the restyled After Hours strand of the 2012 Bermuda International Film Festival being held March 16-22.
Andrew Stoneham, BIFF’s Programing Coordinator, explains: “BIFF filmgoers from previous years will recall that we screen a number of late night films during the film festival. This year, we have decided to brand this section as After Hours.
“We have selected films of a shared nature to be shown within it and we wanted to use the January BIFFlix film choice to offer a sense of what is to come in March. The After Hours films will be provocative, controversial and uncompromising visions that take an innovative approach to art of storytelling.”
In “House of Pleasures” director, Bertrand Bonello, depicts a highly cinematic and atmospheric look at the final days of a turn of the century brothel, L’Apollonide, when much of the Parisian sex trade was confined to grand maisons, populated by elegant madams and vetted clientele.
Within L’Apollonide’s walls, Bonello tracks the lives of the Madam and a dozen girls including: Madeline, who is horribly disfigured by a client and becomes known as “the woman who laughs;” Clotilde, the veteran who longs to be a respectable woman; and Pauline, the newcomer whose eyes are quickly opened to reality.
Using a full range of cinematic techniques such as 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.
“House of Pleasures” was part of the Official Selection for both the Cannes Film Festival 2011 and Toronto International Film Festival 2011. It was nominated for the highest prize at Cannes, the Palme d’Or.
Tickets are available in advance on www.tickets.biff.bm or at the door on the day from 6.00pm. Tickets are priced at $9 for BIFF members and $13 for non-members. For reservations or enquiries email info@biff.bm. Running time: 125 minutes. Language: French [English subtitles].
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