[Susan Foreman]

Arrow Academy

"UK/US TITLE: Black Venus (Blu-ray)

A stark portrait of the life of Saartjie Baartman, also known as the ‘Hottentot Venus’.

Release dates: 21/22 May

Between Couscous, winner of three César Awards, and the Cannes triumph of Blue Is the Warmest Colour, Abdellatif Kechiche made Black Venus, a stark portrait of the life of Saartjie Baartman, also known as the ‘Hottentot Venus’.

Baartman was taken from South African home as a 21-year-old and shipped to Georgian London, where she would be caged and exhibited as a freak show. Presented semi-nude, her physique – especially her large buttocks – was the source of much curiosity. But as her ‘fame’ spread, so too did her exploitation…

Centred on a remarkable performance by Cuban actor Yahima Torres as Baartman, Black Venus provides a bleak but barbed exploration of sex, science, race, colonialism and social attitudes.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks
• Optional English subtitles
• Brand-new appreciation of Black Venus and the cinema of Abdellatif Kechiche by critic Neil Young
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring and original newly commissioned artwork by Peter Strain

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Will Higbee, author of Post-Beur Cinema: North African Émigré and Maghrebi-French Filmmaking in France Since 2000"