Making Marie Antoinette
In this glamorous and fascinating behind-the-scenes portrait, Eleanor Coppola memorably captures members of the cast and crew of Sofia Coppola’s groundbreaking 2006 period film, illuminated further by reflections from her journal, read by Diane Lane.
Description
In this illuminating behind-the-scenes look at Sofia Coppola’s groundbreaking 2006 period film, Eleanor Coppola reflects, “I love seeing where the illusion of the set meets reality.” That distinction is but one of the fascinating elements of this documentary where actors young and old (Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Asia Argento, and Marianne Faithfull, to name a few) reflect on the experience while still clad in the elaborate costumes and wigs that populate the film (Milena Canonero deservedly won the Oscar for Best Costume Design). Particularly trenchant is when Coppola catches moments where different crew members —usually men— express how they think things should be done to the nascent young filmmaker. Most touching of all in this posthumous film are Coppola’s reflections from her journal, read by Diane Lane, as she muses about having waited so long to begin her own creative life. —Rod Armstrong
Attendee Information
This is a free community screening. RSVP is required. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. This program opens for RSVP exclusively to SFFILM members starting Wednesday, October 28 at 10AM, with a 48-hour exclusive member sales window. The program opens to the general public at 10AM on Friday, October 30. Not a member? Join or renew today!
Trailer
Biographies
Eleanor Coppola was assistant art director Eleanor Neil when she met future husband Francis Ford Coppola on the set of his 1963 horror film Dementia 13. In 1991, she made her own directing debut and won an Emmy for Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Her other projects have included A Visit to China’s Miao Country (1996), Francis Ford Coppola Directs ‘John Grisham’s The Rainmaker’ (2007), and Coda: Thirty Years Later (2007). She made film history in 2016 when, at the age of 80, she became the oldest woman to make her debut narrative feature Paris Can Wait. It showed at the San Francisco International Film Festival in 2017 as part of a tribute program where she received the George Gund III Craft of Cinema Award.