The new version of "Emanuelle"

Starring Noémie Merlant, memorable for her work in "Portrait of a Woman on Fire", comes the new adaptation of "Emmanuelle", a classic of erotic literature written under the pseudonym "Emmanuelle Arsan" in the 1960s.

Directed by Audrey Diwan, the film chronicles Emmanuelle's (Merlant) journey of self-discovery as she arrives in Bangkok and unleashes her sexuality in the face of a series of events.

The story was brought to the screen in 1974 by Sylvia Kristel, who became an icon of the genre.

The film was so popular that it launched a franchise of six films for the cinema, seven films for television and several spin-off films that used the label "Emmanuelle" as a warning about sexual content.

What was ostensibly a novel by Thai-French writer Marayat Bibidh when she was 16 was actually the work of French diplomat Louis-Jacques Rollet-Andriane, 30 years older and her future husband. They both published the first edition anonymously in 1959.

The world premiere will take place on 20 September at the San Sebastian Film Festival, to be seen only in cinemas in France on 25 September.

It remains to be seen how Diwan takes on the original story in this new century, as in addition to directing, he also wrote the screenplay with Rebecca Zlotowski.