Archiving the Past, Painting the Present

Abstract

This paper focuses on the representations of diversity and feminism in the French fi lm Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fi lle en feu, 2019), directed by Céline Sciamma. Set in the 18th century, this fi lm addresses numerous contemporary issues through a feminist lens. This paper views Portrait of a Lady on Fire as a visual archive in the history of feminist and queer cinema, creating dialogues between the past and present. Concurrently, using Céline Sciamma as an entry point, the paper also explores the female authorship in the 21st-century French cinema.