Roi Soleil follows the last hour of life of French monarch Louis XIV as it is performed by Lluís Serrat Massanellas in a gallery space. The monarch's last minutes eating candy, contemplating his own reflection, offer an "indulgent, near-grotesque nature of his transposed world [which] stands in stark contrast to the stripped-back industrial look of the gallery space – with its blank walls and suspended metal lighting grid filling the space with an intense red hue – and the stylings of its visitors", following the TATE Modern's page dedicated to the event.
Albert Serra is a Catalan cinema director and producer. In 2009, he was selected as part of the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the Cannes Film Festival and his films have received great critical acclaim, including the prestigious journal Cahiers du Cinéma (which selected Horror of the Knights as one of the ten best films of 2007), or even the Cannes Film Festival, where he was awarded the Prix Spécial du Jury - Un Certain Regard for his latest film, Liberté. His films have been part of the official selection of many international film festivals, such as the Cannes Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival. In 2017, he was awarded the Premi Nacional de Cultura [National Prize for Culture] awarded by the Consell Nacional de la Cultura i de les Arts, one of the most prestigious recognitions in Catalan culture.
You can book your tickets and read more about the film at the TATE Modern's website.
Image: promotional poster for Albert Serra's Roi Soleil, 2016, Andergraun Films.