International star and Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) joins Paul Verhoeven’s erotically-charged drama Blessed Virgin, about the real-life story of a visionary nun whose illicit relationship with another nun led to her execution.
Pathe is handling international sales in Cannes Fest and is set to distribute the film itself in France in 2019 (its third Verhoeven release after 1995’s Showgirls and 2006 drama Black Book).
Blessed Virgin stars Elle actress Virginie Efira as Benedetta Carlini, a novice nun capable of performing miracles, who joins an Italian convent in the late 15th century, during a plague. While at the convent she begins a love affair with another woman.
Said Ben Said’s SBS Productions, which produced Elle, will produce the new film, with shooting set to start in August.
Verhoeven, best known for his Hollywood pictures, including Robocop, Total Recall and Basic Instinct, has enjoyed a late career revival following Elle, which premiered in Cannes in 2016 and scored Best Actress Oscar nomination for star Isabelle Huppert.