Beautiful Lady Orlandos

This film is adapted from the novel of the same name by British writer Virginia Woolf. Set in England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the handsome noble youth Orlando (played by Tilda Swinton) wins the queen's favor and is granted a mansion and eternal youth. Over the next four hundred years, Orlando first falls in love with the Russian princess Sasha (played by Charlotte Valandrey), then turns to poetry and finances the down-and-out poet Nick Green (played by Heathcote Williams). Later, he represents King Charles II in an embassy to Turkey's Constantinople, where he is awarded a royal medal by Prince Henry (played by John Wood) on the night of a fierce battle. After sleeping for seven days, Orlando wakes up transformed into a woman and returns to England. The female Orlando rejects Prince Henry's proposal and falls in love at first sight with the adventurer Shell Merton (played by Billy Zane). Amidst the smoke of the Industrial Revolution and the flames of the world wars, as a mother, Orlando rides a motorcycle into the twentieth century. This film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design, received a nomination for Best Makeup and Best Costume Design from the British Film and Television Academy, and won the OCIC (Audiovisual Effects Technology) Award and the Elvira Notari Award (for special contributions by female directors) at the Venice Film Festival.