Pathé has unveiled an intriguing first teaser for Audrey Diwan‘s Emmanuelle ahead of its world premiere as the opening film of the San Sebastian International Film Festival in September.

It reveals French actress Noémie Merlant as well as supporting cast members Will Sharpe and Naomi Watts in the contemporary tale loosely adapted from Emmanuelle Arsan’s 1967 classic, which inspired the cult 1970s movie starring Sylvia Kristel.

Merlant stars as a woman in search of a lost pleasure, whose business trip to Hong Kong sparks numerous encounters including a meeting with Kei (Sharpe), a man who constantly eludes her.

“Tell me something,” Merlant’s character is heard asking in the open sequence. “What goes on in the head of a person in front of a closed door when they don’t really know if they really want it.”

“It depends who’s behind the door,” replies Sharpe’s character.

Emmanuelle marks hot creative property Diwan’s first film since her Venice Golden Lion winner Happening and her first English-language movie.

Talking to Deadline shortly after wrapping filming in Hong Kong and Paris last autumn, Diwan said her ambition was to revisit the codes of eroticism that she felt had been eroded by contemporary pornography.

“The biggest omission from pornography is the aspect of human relationships. Eroticism exists in the mind as much as it does in the body. It is fuelled by a gaze, a look, a brief interaction,” she said.

The feature is produced by Chantelouve, Rectangle Productions and Goodfellas. The film will be released in France by Pathé on 25 September. The Veterans is handling worldwide sales.