But while Bajrami’s “ The Hill Where Lionesses Roar” indicates a budding filmmaker eager to explore elements that don’t always pay off, Merlant’s “Mi Iubita, Mon Amour” suffers from the opposite issue: a filmmaker unwilling to grapple with the uncomfortable questions her story asks. Noémie Merlant and breakout supporting star Luàna Bajrami have made a pair of films that would make a compelling double feature with their similar tones and countryside settings, along with awkward filmmaking tics to spare. Two years after Céline Sciamma’s luminous “ Portrait of a Lady on Fire” premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, the lush historical romance has spawned an intriguing legacy: Two of its stars are back on the Croisette, each with her own feature directorial debut.
