| FRANCE/BELGIUM, 2008, 121 Mins Directed by MARTIN PROVOST In French and German with English subtitles Southeast Premiere |
Nominated for nine French Academy Awards ("Cesars"), including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Director, Martin Provost's SÉRAPHINE is a marvel--a celebration of art and nature that's a testament to creativity and the resilience of one woman's spirit. Séraphine de Senlis was a little-known yet endlessly fascinating early 20th century painter. A simple and desperately poor housekeeper, she immersed herself in the wonders of nature, which in turn inspired her to express her feelings on canvas. She stole the things she needed for her art and made her own paints, but the locals largely ignored her wondrous canvases of flowers. When a German art critic and collector moved to Senlis in 1912, he was shocked to discover the artist behind the paintings and eventually set up an exhibition and became her patron. Yolande Moreau's exquisite performance as Séraphine is a towering achievement, and this fictionalized portrait of a forgotten painter--whose brilliantly colored canvases adorn some of the most famous galleries in the world--is a revelation. 
