Opening the San Sebastián International Film Festival, this revolutionary adaptation of Emmanuelle Arsan’s eponymous novel is a masterclass in pleasure. Screening exclusively with limited sessions at AF FFF25, this film is a sensory experience not to be missed. A six-star hotel in Hong Kong glitters at night. Emmanuelle (Noémie Merlant, The Innocent, AF FFF23), an expat quality assessor for luxury hotels, has just arrived. She’s here to find the vulnerable spot in hotel manager Margot Parson’s (Naomi Watts) expert direction but something else awaits her in the gilded corridors and plush suites: a sensual rabbit hole of erotic fantasies. Award-winning director Audrey Diwan (Happening, AF FFF22) returns to the big screen with a classy, sensual remake of the softcore cult classic, Emmanuelle. Teasing atmospheric longing reminiscent of Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love, Diwan’s film is a slow-burn, aesthetic exploration of unfettered female pleasure. Both wrestling with, and ultimately liberating itself from Just Jaeckin’s original 1974 film, feminine fantasy is the nexus of EMMANUELLE. Focusing entirely on her pleasure, Emmanuelle doesn’t care whether you think she’s selfish or not – she wants you to join in.