Augustine

Alice Winocour : 2012

Paris, winter 1885. At the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Professor Jean-Marin Charcot studies a mysterious illness which he calls 'Hysteria'. Home to thousands of seemingly catatonic women and run by only a handful of doctors, the isolated corridors of the hospital perfectly shadow the Professor's hypnotic tests on his patients. Augustine, a 19-year-old girl, is admitted to the hospital and soon becomes the Professor's favourite subject; the star of his demonstrations of hypnosis. But the object of his studies will soon become the object of his desire. Alice Winocour's feature debut premiered in competition in the Séances Spéciales at the Semaine de la Critique at Festival de Cannes 2012.