Who's afraid of Catherine Breillat?

IF there's one person at the Singapore Writers Festival who's not afraid to discuss sex, it's Catherine Breillat - dubbed by some as the modern-day Anais Nin. The fearless, boundary-bulldozing writer and filmmaker has built a career out of shocking, unflinching examinations of human sexuality. And, at the age of 65, she shows no sign of losing her nerve.

In 1965, when she was 16, Breillat published her first novel in France, the erotic L'Homme facile (Easy Man), about the lusty exploits of a young man. The French government promptly banned the book from being sold to anyone under 18 years - which effectively meant she couldn't buy her own book at a store.

At 50, she wrote and directed the torrid film Romance (1998), about a young woman who becomes disillusioned with her relationship and goes in search of casual lovers.