Description:

Date: Friday, May 24th - 7 PM
Location: The Block Museum of Art –  40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, IL
Click here for directions
Free and open to the public. Free on-campus parking available after 4 PM in the open air lot. 

The Rapture (Le Ravissement) – regional premiere
(2023), France, 97 min
Director: Iris Kaltenbäck
This screening is a part of the Chicago Mental Health Film Showcase

Lydia (Hafsia Herzi), a caring young midwife, drifts through Paris after the relationship with her boyfriend falls apart. When her best friend Salomé (Nina Meurisse) becomes pregnant, Lydia spirals out of control, relentlessly throwing herself into her work at the maternity ward, while secretly obsessing over a one-night stand with Milos (Alexis Manenti). After taking worrisome risks with the delivery of Salomé's baby, Lydia becomes very involved in caring for the infant, which leads to her spinning a web of lies with dire consequences. Anchored by a beautifully subtle yet powerful performance by Hafsia Herzi, The Rapture combines the tense, suspenseful elements of a procedural with an intimate view of Lydia's unraveling. Far from didactic, the film reveals the complex feelings and expectations about motherhood, romantic relationships, and friendship that bear down on Lydia. The first feature film by French director Iris Kaltenbäck, The Rapture (Le Ravissement) premiered at the 2023 Cannes Critics' Week where it won the Prix SACD.  

Followed by a post-screening discussion.  

About the Chicago Mental Health Film Showcase:
In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Northwestern University's Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab presents the Chicago Mental Health Film Showcase – two days of films, conversations, and a creative workshop with film consultant and narrative therapist Poh Lin Lee.  

The three featured films include the award-winning hybrid documentary Island of the Hungry Ghosts; a hard-hitting feminist analysis of Hollywood's cinematic language in Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power; and the regional premiere of the new French fiction film The Rapture (Le Ravissement). Ranging from migration and gendered cinematic shot design to motherhood, the topics of the selected films vary greatly, yet they are tied together by prompting questions about mental health in the context of greater societal and cultural conditions and pressures.  

Film screenings and discussions are free and open to the public, the workshop with Poh Lin Lee is reserved for Northwestern students.  

About the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab:
Northwestern University’s Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts creatively examines representations of mental illness and health on screen and supports students in the production of original media art works that challenge stereotypes. Student filmmakers, faculty, visiting artists, and the wider public engage with the studio lab in a variety of ways – from the production of new works and courses to public events such as the Chicago Mental Health Film Showcase. We strive to tackle complex topics, destigmatize mental illness, and promote healing through creative innovation and inquiry.