A MAGNIFICENT LIFE

(Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol)

Special Screening | France | 2025 | Animation, Biopic, Drama | 90 min | In English

Directed by: Sylvain Chomet
Written by: Sylvain Chomet
Based on the Memoirs of: Marcel Pagnol
Produced by: Ashargin Poiré & Valérie Puech (What The Prod), Aton Soumache (Onyx Films), Eric Goossens & Anton Roebben (Walking the Dog), Christel Henon & Lilian Eche (Bidibul Productions), Jean-Yves Patay (Mediawan)
Cinematography: Elric Lefeuvre
Original Score: Stefano Bollani, SCH
Film Editing: Samuel Denou, Mario Houles, Julie Salon
Cast (English Voices): Matthew Gravelle, Flora Montgomery, Lu Corfield, Shane Attwooll, Jonathan Keeble, Celyn Jones, Jess Nesling
International Sales: Elle Driver
US Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
US Release Date: TBA

Synopsis

Animator extraordinaire Sylvain Chomet is back with another visually lush biopic on the life of an artist he clearly admires. This time, it’s monumental Marseille playwright, novelist and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, acclaimed by many to be one of France’s greatest 20th century artists. Told in flashback, the film introduces Pagnol at the age of 61, in 1956, when his popularity is waning, and the world is changing all around him. He fears his career may be over, when the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine commissions him to write a serial recounting his life, his beloved Provence, and his groundbreaking work, which revolutionized French cinema in more ways than one.

Director’s Biography

Writer/director/animator Sylvain Chomet began his career creating print comics, then moved to London to work as an animator, before launching his own freelance commercial business. In 1997, he wrote and directed his first animated short, The Old Lady and the Pigeons, which was nominated for an Oscar, a César, and won a BAFTA Award for Best Animated Short. His highly-praised first animated feature, The Triplets of Bellville (2003), was nominated for two Oscars and was named Best Animated Feature by both the Los Angeles and New York Film Critics associations. The “Eiffel Tower” segment of Paris, je t’aime (COLCOA 2007) was his first live-action film. His 2010 feature, The Illusionist, was based on an unproduced 1956 script by the great Jacques Tati and garnered a César Award for Best Animated Feature. That was followed by the live-action feature Attila Marcel (2013), the short Merci Monsieur Imada (COLCOA 2016 Audience Award winner), and the animated opening sequence for Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie à Deux (2024). A Magnificent Life premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is a strong contender for the awards season.