The Shameless (HKLGFF 2025)

Supported by Consulate General of Switzerland in Hong Kong

Best Actress, “Un Certain Regard” Cannes Film Festival
Busan International Film Festival

France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Taiwan, India / 2024 / 114 mins
Lesbian, Romance, Drama
Hong Kong Premiere

Renuka, during a sex work encounter, stabs a policeman to death. Escaping from a Delhi brothel to a red-light district in northern India, she meets Devika, a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution by her mother. A virgin's first night is worth a fortune–how could a fugitive prostitute, plagued by illness, possibly "ruin" it? Homosexuality, traditional religious burdens, societal norms, identity politics… all these forces mercilessly humiliate their bond, which develops into a forbidden romance. Is a desperate escape their only way out?
Bulgarian director Konstantin's third feature film, initially conceived as a documentary project, took 12 years to complete and finally shone brightly at the Cannes "Un Certain Regard" section during its premiere!