France, 1770. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly.  

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (French: Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) is a 2019 French historical drama film written and directed by Céline Sciamma, starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Set in France in the late 18th century, the film tells the story of a forbidden affair between an aristocrat and a painter commissioned to paint her portrait.  

Portrait of a Lady on Fire was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival The film won the Queer Palm at Cannes, becoming the first film directed by a woman to win the award. Sciamma also won the award for Best Screenplay at Cannes. The film was theatrically released in France on 18 September 2019.  It was nominated for Independent Spirit Awards, Critics' Choice Awards and Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and was chosen by the National Board of Review as Top Five Foreign Language Films of 2019.