A Raw Talent in Film

Writer-director JULIA DUCOURNAU explains to Pierre de Villiers how she was able to bring a fresh approach to the horror genre.

- Pierre de Villiers

Every now and then, a film comes along that audiences find so shocking, it generates screaming headlines around the globe. Usually the architects behind these controversial movies are male and American – film-makers such as Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth or Oliver Stone. However, the director behind this year’s most talked-about film is, refreshingly, a woman. And French. Take a bow, Julia Ducournau, the new mistress of horror.

The 33-year-old Parisian’s first feature-length film, Raw – about a veterinary student who goes from vegetarianism to cannibalism after eating raw meat – has been lauded by critics as “shockingly well made for a debut feature” and “exceptionally classy”.

Media storm