Arrow Films - Join the Cult!

Between The Secret of the Grain, 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 Features

• 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 original and 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