AIMing true

Adèle Haenel in collaboration with Gisèle Vienne

L’Arche, 192 pages, 2026

Why you should look at it:

√ A Powerful and Radical Literary Debut
√ An artistic manifesto
√ A method of survival

Rights sold in Canada, Spain, and Italy, under negotiation in Germany, Korea, China, and Portugal.

From the César award-winning actress and activist Adèle Haenel, in collaboration with visionary theater director Gisèle Vienne, comes Aiming True—a fiercely lucid hybrid text that marks her definitive transition from cinema to literature and experimental theater.

 Far beyond a traditional memoir, Haenel crafts a genre-defying narrative that blends autobiographical narrative, philosophical essay, screenplay excerpts into a gripping exploration of personal reckoning, systemic critique, and creative liberation.

Following the metamorphosis of a "ghost child" that is drawn from Haenel’s personal experience with abuse, the book’s first three parts offers a searing and uncompromisingly meticulous examination of trauma, memory, and the painful process of breaking through denial.

The final part of Aiming True focuses on breaking away from the passive roles imposed by the film industry, dismantling  and reimagining the conventional rules of stage and screen. Ultimately, Aiming True provides a strategic blueprint to heal trauma and resist structural violence. By framing radical disobedience as an open improvisation, it offers a path to build a new world and a future free from domination.

Adèle Haenel is a critically acclaimed French actress, writer, and prominent social activist. She rose to international prominence for her magnetic, emotionally raw performances in landmark films such as Portrait of a Lady on Fire. A multi-time César Award winner, Haenel shifted her focus away from traditional commercial cinema and has since dedicated her career to theater, literature, and radical political activism.

Gisèle Vienne is a Franco-Austrian artist, choreographer, and theater director celebrated for her boundary-pushing, multi-disciplinary work. For over two decades, her acclaimed productions—including Crowd, L'Étang, and EXTRA LIFE—have toured internationally across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.