Nelly Arcan became an overnight literary sensation in Quebec with the publication of her first novel, Putain (Whore) in 2001. The book was praised for its literary qualities, but it was also a succès de scandale, in part because its chronicle of the life of a sex worker was semi-autobiographical, and the fact that the 28-year-old Arcan was a blonde bombshell surely didn't hurt either.

The latest feature from Anne Émond (Nuit #1; Our Loved Ones) is a biopic that deliberately blurs the edges between the author's life and work, cutting betwixt and between in boldly non-chronological fashion, with Mylène MacKay playing the adult Nelly throughout. Émond's fragmented portrait mirrors Nelly's disjointed sense of her own identity and sexuality. Erotic and empowering at times, but equally anguished and troubling at others, Nelly is an ambitious, serious work from one of Canada's most exciting young filmmakers.

"A movie every bit as racy, rough-edged and conflicted as the woman whose story it tells." Montreal Gazette

Anne Émond – Director