AFFFF26: Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand

Il était une fois Michel Legrand

ONCE UPON A TIME MICHEL LEGRAND offers a captivating portrait of the legendary composer and jazz virtuoso whose work transformed both music and cinema. Through never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with admirers and friends, including Barbra Streisand, the film celebrates a man who brought French music to the world stage and devoted himself tirelessly to his art until the very end.

A prodigy from the age of ten, Legrand entered the Conservatoire de Paris and quickly distinguished himself. Three Oscars and seventy-five years later, he performed for the first time at the Philharmonie de Paris, delivering a triumphant concert that crowned a lifelong journey of innovation and musical curiosity.

From the chanson tradition to film soundtracks, Legrand constantly reinvented his craft. He composed unforgettable scores for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Yentl and The Thomas Crown Affair, and collaborated with icons such as Jean-Luc Godard, Miles Davis, Dusty Springfield, Jacques Demy, Charles Aznavour, and Natalie Dessay. His melodies continue to enchant audiences worldwide.

Presented at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film blends rare archival footage, excerpts from Orson Welles’s The Other Side of the Wind – Legrand’s final composition – and images from his dazzling 2018 concert in Seville, resulting in a luminous tribute to one of the century’s greatest musical storytellers.