Just over a month after word came that Mélanie Laurent will direct Elle and Dakota Fanning in an adaptation of Kristin Hannah’s “The Nightingale” comes news that she’s bringing another woman-penned novel to the screen. Variety reports that the French filmmaker and actress will write and direct “The Mad Women’s Ball” for Legende Films.

Based on Victoria Mas’ award-winning novel, “The Mad Women’s Ball” “takes place at the end of the 19th century in Paris, at a time when women deemed too rebellious or difficult were frequently labeled as insane and institutionalized,” the source details. “The action unfolds at the Salpêtrière hospital where these women diagnosed with different kinds of nervous system disorders were confined and put under the supervision of neurologists such as Jean-Martin Charcot. Each year, a prestigious ball was organized with the patients and attracted the Parisian elite; it was a place to see and be seen.” Like the book, the film, which may shoot in English or French, “will follow a woman who was unfairly institutionalized at the Salpêtrière hospital and manages to escape.”

Laurent made her English-language feature directorial debut with 2018’s “Galveston.” She’s currently in pre-production on “The Nightingale,” a coming-of-age story about two sisters set on the eve of WWII. “Breathe” and “Diving” are among her other features. Laurent’s on-screen credits include “6 Underground,” “Beginners,” and “Inglourious Basterds.”