In this vibrant and moving biopic – actress Céline Sallette’s directorial debut – French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (Charlotte Le Bon) leaves the US for Paris with husband, writer Harry Mathews (John Robinson), joining the Parisian art scene of the fifties, the Nouveaux Réalistes group. De Saint Phalle (1930-2002) is best known for her monumental Nanas sculptures. Sallette depicts Niki’s psychological journey, as she mines her personal history for inspiration; her traumatic childhood, self-destructive behaviour, and her ultimate transformation, becoming an accomplished avant-garde artist and feminist icon.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Céline Sallette and Alice Butler, co-director of aemi (an Arts Council funded organisation that supports and regularly exhibits moving image works by artists and experimental filmmakers).

Notes by Marie-Pierre Richard.

Screening as part of IFI French Film Festival 2024.