// Presented as part of October's French Art House II Series //

Malgoska Szumowska / 2011, Berlin, Dublin, Hammer to Nail Festival, Festival du Film Francophone de Grèce, Festival du Film Français en Israël, Istanbul, Kiev Molodist, Lisbon - French Film Festival, Rendezvous with French Cinema, Toronto, Transilvania, Tribeca / 99'

Anne is a middle-aged journalist for Elle Magazine who lives in Paris with her young family. As part of an assignment she begins investigating the city's underground prostitution scene, interviewing two students who have entered the profession for disparate reasons. Anne's work on the article soon blossoms into friendships with the two women, their confrontations with fear, desire, and subordination summoning uneasy resonances with Anne's experiences of domesticity and discontent.

Featuring a fearless performance by Juliette Binoche as a woman uncovering the insidious effects of patriarchy and power structures in her own life, alongside those much less privileged than herself, Elles is a daring examination of feminism and gender politics in contemporary France. The fourth feature from award-winning Polish filmmaker Malgoska Szumowska (Mug, Never Gonna Snow Again) premiered at Berlin, Toronto, and Tribeca.