Belladonna of Sadness

Jeanne and her new husband, Jean, arrive at their lord’s castle with a cow’s worth of money to secure his blessing on their marriage. Their poverty earns only contempt, and when their plea is dismissed, the lord’s wife proposes a cruel substitute: Jeanne must be taken by the lord in a ceremonial “deflowering” that night.

The trauma leaves Jeanne isolated, receiving little comfort from Jean and slipping into neglect. As she falls asleep, an uncanny spirit appears and urges her toward vengeance, awakening a disquieting mix of desire and power that Jeanne chooses to embrace.

*Belladonna of Sadness* unfolds as an avant-garde historical drama set in a poor medieval French village, weaving psychosexual themes with witchcraft and superstition as Jeanne’s fate takes a darker turn.