'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire' Trailer: Céline Sciamma's Lavish Lesbian Romance Is A Must-See Cannes Darling

One of the buzziest films to come out of this year's Cannes Film Festival is Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma's lush, slow-burning lesbian romance. The winner of the Queer Palm Prize and Best Screenplay at the prestigious film festival, Portrait of a Lady on Fire was picked up for U.S. distribution by Neon, which has finally debuted the official U.S. trailer. Watch the Portrait of a Lady on Fire trailer below.

Set in France, 1760, Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows a female painter commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of a reluctant bride-to-be. Posing as the young lady's walking companion, the two form an intense connection that grows into intimacy and attraction in a slow-burning lesbian romance. Directed by Céline Sciamma (Tomboy, Girlhood, My Life as a Courgette), Portrait of a Lady on Fire was met with some of the best reviews at the Cannes Film Festival, including one from /Film reviewer Jason Gorber, who declared it, "a tour-de-force film by director Céline Sciamma, the film is both evocative and enervating, casting a spell on the audience that feels as dreamlike as the Britany seaside location."

The movie's hot streak doesn't stop there — it's caught fire at the Toronto International Film Festival this week as well. But despite the rapturous reception and Neon's intent to launch an awards campaign for the film, France has yet to name Portrait of a Lady on Fire as its official entry for Best International Film Oscar. But from what the critics are raving, it seems like it's only a matter of time.

Here is the synopsis for Portrait of a Lady on Fire:

France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse's first moments of freedom. Héloïse's portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of and testament to their love.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire hits U.S. theaters on December 6, 2019.