The film will be shot in French (under the title Sainte Vierge) and will star Virginie Efira who played the devoutly Catholic Rebecca in Elle. Here, she’ll take on the role of Sister Benedetta Carlini, a 17th century nun who was hailed as a visionary but later accused of fabricated miracles, homosexuality and other charges, and imprisoned for 35 years.

The film is based on the book Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy which was published in 1986 and written by historian Judith C Brown. Gerard Soeteman, who previously co-wrote Verhoeven’s Black Book, is penning the adaptation. Shooting is set to begin soon.

The story, which mixes religion with erotica and controversy, fits right into Verhoeven’s wheelhouse. Brown based it on papers she discovered in the state archives of Florence, according to a New York Times review when the book was published. Carlini entered the convent at the age of nine and at 23 began to have religious and erotic visions. She became Abbess of the Convent of the Mother of God, but later aroused suspicions by claiming to have had supernatural contact with Christ.

IFC Films has set a December 3, 2021, theatrical and VOD release date for Paul Verhoeven’s steamy Cannes hit Benedetta.

The anticipated movie will open in New York at the IFC Center and Film Lincoln Center and in LA at the Royal and The Alamo Drafthouse.

The French-language film debuted in Cannes and will get its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival.

Benedetta, which had tongues wagging on the Croisette, follows a 17th-century nun in Italy who suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair. It is based on Judith C. Brown’s book, Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy.