“She wore out one painter before you. She refused to pose,” The Countess (Valeria Golino) warns an intrigued painter (Noémie Merlant). “You must paint without her knowing… Is painting her this way feasible?” As the trailer for Céline Sciamma’s latest film implies, this method proves itself far from achievable.

“Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” a French-language period piece set in 18th century France, follows the relationship between the commissioned painter and her reluctant subject, the daughter of The Countess betrothed to a Milanese suitor (Adèle Haenel). Artistic observation soon develops into a passionate — and possibly destructive — interest in the unwilling bride.

Sciamma’s film was one of only four female-directed films that screened in Competition at Cannes 2019. “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” made festival history as the first female-directed recipient of the Queer Palm. Sciamma also took home the festival’s Best Screenplay award. Hulu and Neon have acquired the film’s North American rights.

Sciamma’s previous credits include “Girlhood” and “Tomboy.” “Girlhood” was also nominated for the Queen Palm in 2014. “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” will hit LA and NY on December 6.