''Black Venus'' (french: Vénus noire) is a 2010 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Abdellatif Kechiche Abdellatif Kechiche (; ar, عبد اللطيف كشيش, born 7 December 1960) is a Tunisian- French actor, film director and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut in 2000 with '' La Faute à Voltaire'', which he also wrote. Known for his ...

. It is based on the life of

Sarah Baartman Sarah Baartman (; 1789– 29 December 1815), also spelt Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the n ...

, a

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...

woman who in the early 19th century was exhibited in Europe under the name "Hottentot Venus". The film was nominated for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguishe ...

at the

67th Venice International Film Festival The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, took place from 1 to 11 September 2010. American film director and screenwriter Quentin Tarantino was the head of the Jury. The opening film of the festival was Darren Aro ...

, where it was awarded the Equal Opportunity Award.

Plot

Paris 1815, the Royal Academy of Medicine. "I have never seen a human head so similar to that of an ape". Standing by a moulded cast of Saartjie Baartman's body, anatomist

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...

's verdict is categorical. Seven years earlier, Saartjie left her native South Africa with her master, Caezar, to expose her caged body to the audiences of London's freak shows. Free and enslaved all at the same time, the "

Hottentot Venus Sarah Baartman (; 1789– 29 December 1815), also spelt Sara, sometimes in the diminutive form Saartje (), or Saartjie, and Bartman, Bartmann, was a Khoikhoi woman who was exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th-century Europe under the n ...

" became an icon in the slums, destined to be sacrificed in the pursuit of a shimmering vision of prosperity.

Cast

* Yahima Torres as

* Andre Jacobs as Caezar *

Olivier Gourmet Olivier Gourmet (born 22 July 1963) is a Belgian actor. Gourmet was born in Namur. He won the Best Actor award at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival for his role in '' Le Fils'' by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. He also appeared in ''La Promesse'' ...

as Réaux, le forain *

Elina Löwensohn Elina Löwensohn (born 11 July 1966) is a Romanian-American actress. She had roles in the films ''Simple Men'' (1992), ''Schindler's List'' (1993), ''Amateur'' (1994), '' Nadja'' (1994) and '' The Wisdom of Crocodiles'' (1998). Life and career L ...

as Jeanne *

François Marthouret François Marthouret (born 12 September 1943) is a French actor. Selected filmography Theater References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marthouret, Francois 1943 births Living people Male actors from Paris French male film actors ...

Jean-Christophe Bouvet Jean-Christophe Bouvet (born 24 March 1947) is a French actor, film director and writer. Filmography As actor *1969: ''La philosophie dans le boudoir'' as Le grand prêtre *1975: ''Change pas de main'' as Alain *1977: ''La Machine'' (directed ...

as Mercailler *

Jonathan Pienaar Jonathan Pienaar (born 16 September 1962) is a South African writer, actor, voice-over artist and comedian who has been active for over 20 years. He has appeared in both South African and international films and television shows including ''Ski ...

as Alexander Dunlop

Reception

''Black Venus'' holds a 100% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on five reviews.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Black Venus Belgian drama films 2010 films 2010 drama films French drama films 2010s French-language films Films directed by Abdel Kechiche Films set in the 1810s Films set in London Films set in Paris Drama films based on actual events French-language Belgian films 2010s French films