Climax (2018)

Yes, Gaspar Noé was inspired by a real incident from the late 1990s in which a French dance troupe's sangria was spiked with LSD after a rehearsal. Noé discovered the story through a French documentary and used it as the foundation for his screenplay, though the film's depiction of the ensuing chaos is heavily dramatized and fictionalized.

Sofia Boutella, known for her roles in Kingsman: The Secret Service and The Mummy, stars as Selva, the troupe's choreographer and one of the film's central characters. The rest of the cast is composed largely of professional dancers rather than established actors, lending authenticity to the elaborate choreographed sequences.

Cinematographer Benoît Debie, Noé's frequent collaborator on Enter the Void and Spring Breakers, shot Climax using extended long takes, upside-down camera angles, and disorienting tracking shots through the corridors of an abandoned school building. The production used a largely improvised script, with dancers given freedom to react authentically to the simulated effects of LSD.

Climax premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it received widespread critical acclaim. It was subsequently picked up for U.S. distribution by A24 and released theatrically in early 2019.