Clouds of Sils Maria

Clouds of Sils Maria (known simply as Sils Maria in some territories) is a 2014 psychological drama film written and directed by Olivier Assayas, and starring Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloë Grace Moretz. The film is a French-German-Swiss co-production. Principal photography took place from August to October 2013, with most of the filming taking place in Sils Maria, Switzerland. The film follows an established middle-aged actress (Binoche) who is cast as the older lover in a romantic lesbian drama opposite an upstart young starlet (Moretz). She is overcome with personal insecurities and professional jealousies—all while sexual tension simmers between her and her personal assistant (Stewart). The screenplay was written with Binoche in mind and incorporates elements from her life into the plot. Clouds of Sils Maria was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2014, and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. The film received positive reviews, with critics lauding the work as psychologically complex and praising the lead actresses' performances. It won the Louis Delluc Prize for Best Film in December 2014, and received six César Award nominations. Stewart received the César Award for Best Supporting Actress in February 2015, the first time an American won the award. Plot Maria Enders is an international film and stage actress. She travels with a loyal and young American assistant, Valentine. Twenty years earlier, Maria got her big break when she was cast and successfully performed as a young girl Sigrid in both the play and film version of Maloja Snake by Wilhelm Melchior, a Swiss playwright who is now elderly. The play centers on the tempestuous relationship between Sigrid and Helena, a vulnerable older woman. Helena commits suicide after Sigrid takes advantage of her and dumps her. While traveling to Zürich to accept an award on behalf of Wilhelm, and planning to visit him at home the following day at his house in Sils Maria—a remote settlement in the Alps—Maria learns of his death. His widow Rosa later confides that Wilhelm had ended his life and had been terminally ill. During the awards ceremony, Maria is approached by Klaus Diesterweg, a popular theater director. He wants to persuade her to appear onstage in a revival of Maloja Snake, but this time in the role of Helena.