Winter, 1915. Confined by her family to an asylum in the South of France, where she will never sculpt again, Camille Claudel 1915 is the chronicle of the great artists reclusive life, as she waits for a visit from her brother, the poet Paul Claudel.

Born in 1864 in Aisne, Northern France, Camille Claudel was a sculptress, the older sister of the writer Paul Claudel, her junior by 4 years. She was first Auguste Rodin’s student, then his mistress for fifteen years, until she left him in 1895.

In 1913, following the death of her father, having spent ten years as a recluse in her studio in Paris, she was confined by her family, first to the mental hospital at the nearby Ville Evrard, then to an asylum at Montdevergues, in the Vaucluse. There is no evidence that she was suffering from any mental illness.

Camille Claudel 1915 originated from a voice message Juliette Binoche left for director Bruno Dumont expressing her desire to collaborate with him. Dumont was reading a book about Claudel at the time and quickly he began to imagine Juliette Binoche as Claudel. Playing Camille Claudel was a long held ambition of Juliette Binoche’s. Controversially Dumont choose to cast real psychiatric patients as the other patients in the movie.

Premièring at the 63rd Berlin Film Festival in 2013, Camille Claudel 1915 was an immediate success with critics. Juliette Binoche was nominated for a Prix Lumière for Best Actress for her role in Camille Claudel 1915.