Playing opposite Argentine tango performer Pablo Verón, Sally Potter directs herself in a seductive dance of reality and fiction.

Filmmaking, like tango, is an expression of passion. When director Sally (Sally Potter) struggles with one, she sashays into another. Meeting enticing instructor Pablo (Pablo Verón), she strikes up a bargain: if he teaches her to dance away her screenwriting troubles, she’ll make him a movie star.

Recognised for excellence in filmmaking by the National Board of Review, and first screened at MIFF in 1998, The Tango Lesson moves through a series of intersections – of love, art forms, gender roles, cultures, dreams, strengths and weaknesses, and the difference between leading and following. Conveyed via a series of lessons, Potter’s film plunges audiences into an intimate exploration of duality, anchored by the soulful performances at its centre.

'It takes quite a lot of courage to expose yourself, in the emotional sense, in front of the camera, but that’s what director Sally Potter has done with her remarkable film ... an invigorating and graceful love story, filled with longing, humour and excitement.' – SBS Movies