Albert Serra © 2019 - Idéale Audience - Rosa Filmes - Andergraun Films © Román YñánShould you choose to describe Albert Serra's oeuvre by using a long series of pronouns, you might find yourself writing down a string of words that start with a precise prefix: demystification, decadence, decay, depravity, debauchery, and desire. Serra is an auteur par Sarris: with a tight conceptual apparatus and cross-platform interests, recurrent motifs and specific work methods, the Catalan director is known for his innovative, independent slow-burning pieces set in pre-French Revolution Europe, his free narratives spun around the continent's aristocracy in a moment of political and bodily entropy, from Casanova to Louis Xiv.His newest feature, Liberté, a no-holds-barred depiction of sexual debauchery in a German forest over the course of a night in 1774, made waves at this year's Cannes Film Festival, where it premiered in the Un Certain Regard section and won the Special Jury Prize.