Catherine Breillat (born July 13, 1948) is a filmmaker and director based in Paris. She is known not only for her films focusing on themes of sexuality, gender conflict and sibling rivalry, but also for her best-selling novels. Ms. Breillat has been the subject of controversy for her explicit depictions of sexuality and violence. In 2003 she cast the pornstar Rocco Siffredi in her film Anatomie de l'enfer (Anatomy of Hell). She is also a professor of auteur cinema at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where she conducts a summer workshop.
In an interview with Senses of Cinema, she described David Cronenberg as another filmmaker she considers to have a similar approach to sexuality in film.
