'Once Upon A Time Michel Legrand' On Mediawan's Cannes Slate

EXCLUSIVE: Here’s a first trailer for Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand, which has been selected for the Cannes Classics sidebar.

Mediawan Rights recently snapped up the film, which looks at the life of late jazz musician and film composer Michel Legrand and is the first feature documentary by David Herzog Dessites. It will screen at the Cannes Film Festival’s Classics sidebar alongside docs such as Faye, Ron Howard’s Jim Henson Idea Man and Lyang Kim’s Walking in the Movies.

Legrand, who passed away in 2019 aged 86, wrote more than 200 film and television scores, and numerous songs. Two written for French New Wave director Jacques Demy’s films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) earned Legrand his first Academy Award nominations. The 60th anniversary of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is being celebrated in Cannes this year.

Legrand won his first Oscar for the song “The Windmills of Your Mind” from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and for Summer of ’42 (1971) and Barbra Streisand’s Yentl (1983), which we briefly see referenced in the trailer.

As the trailer, the first familiar face we see in singer Sting as a joyous series of images capture the musician on stage, with older footage of a younger, dark-haired Legrand set against images of the man in later life. A voiceover notes, “No one could tell a story in music like Michel.”

Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand will use intimate, never-before-seen archival footage of the composer’s personal and professional relationships, such as shared moments with Barbara Streisand and intimate exchanges with Agnès Varda. Personal archive, including audio recordings and cinematic footage captured with Legrand’s 16mm camera, will also be included.

One Upon a Time: Michel Legrand is from MACT Productions and Le Sous-Marin Productions production with the participation of OCS, in association with Dulac Distribution, Mediawan Rights and Indéfilms 10. Dulac Distribution is distributing to French cinemas.

“We believe this portrait will resonate with audiences and serve as a fitting tribute to a legendary figure in the world of music and cinema,” said Arianna Castoldi, Mediawan Rights Head of Documentary Sales. “We’ll target specific clients specialized in classic and musical films.”

In Cannes, Mediawan Rights is also launching films such as My Father’s Diaries and animated doc Flavors of Iraq, with the former screening on May 17.

My Father’s Diaries, from Mediawan-owned Palomar, follows director Ado Hasanovic as he sifts through the footage his father Bekir Hasanovic had recorded during the days of conflict in Srebrenica in the early 1990s. He uses the recordings to piece together an image of his father and, together with his mother Fatima, finally understand how he survived the Srebrenica genocide during the Bosnian War.

Flavors of Iraq is based tweets published by Feurat Alani about his personal history and that of his native Iraq. Mediawan is hosting an exclusive first-look market screening. Léonard Cohen is the director and Alani the writer. The film is produced by Miyu and Nova Productions, with the participation of ARTE.

Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat is also on the slate. Launched at EFM, it is written and directed by Johan Grimonprez and produced by Warboys and Onomatopee Films. It premiered at Sundance and looks at the relationship between jazz and decolonization, following why musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.

“We are committed to supporting a range of filmmakers, both established and emerging,” said Castoldi. “Our focus on this genre originates from our dedication to championing new talents, including first-time directors and producers. We aim to provide them with a platform to share their unique perspectives and amplify their voices to a wider audience.

“Their narratives authentically reflect both their personal experiences and the contemporary realities we face today, which are often marked by the impact of war. What particularly drew us to Flavors of Iraq when Miyu approached us was their ability to blend personal narratives with historical context, all while delivering incredible visual storytelling. It’s a testament to their skill in tackling complex subjects in a deeply personal and engaging manner.”

For Mediawan Rights, Cannes comes soon after parent company Mediawan took over German indie producer-distributor Leonine Studios, creating a merged European giant with revenues over €1B ($1.1B).