Taking a deep dive into the glamorous and tumultuous life of Audrey Hepburn is something many filmmakers—particularly documentarians—have attempted to do over the years.
Helena Coan, the director of forthcoming documentary Audrey, is offering a new and intimate look at the iconic star, digging deeper to find out who was behind the glamorous wardrobe and classic films.
Created by the BAFTA-nominated team behind McQueen, the documentary looks to the Oscar winner's love of ballet, partnering with the Royal Ballet's Wayne McGregor to choreograph dance-based “portraits” of the Breakfast at Tiffany's star—interweaving dance sequences with never-before-seen archive footage of Hepburn's movies and personal life.
“The film provides intimate interviews with those who knew her best, woven around rare archival footage," says director Helena Coan. "However, we have taken it one step further and worked with multi-award-winning British choreographer, Wayne McGregor CBE, to create dance sequences inspired by Audrey’s love of ballet, building a beguiling and emotionally affecting portrait of Audrey.
"Dance magnifies Audrey’s emotional landscape and brings a heightened sense of drama and theatre to the film, as well as a rich visual language which has not yet been used in documentary."
Audrey, which will be available for download on November 30, will also feature interviews with her family. Hepburn’s son Sean Hepburn Ferrer will help shed light on his mother’s difficult childhood—from her severe malnutrition to the difficulty of life under Nazi occupation in Holland.
"This early experience led to a life-long battle with the traumas of her past... and cast a shadow over her personal life", says a press release.
Former Givenchy artistic director Clare Waight Keller speaks to Hepburn's status as muse to Hubert de Givenchy, while Tiffany & Co. designer director emeritus John Loring details the brand's ongoing relationship with the actress, including loaning her the 128.54-carat Fancy Yellow Tiffany Diamond.
Ballerina Francesca Hayward will play ‘Hollywood era Audrey’ at the height of her fame, Alessandra Ferri will play Audrey in her later years and the film also introduces Keira Moore as ‘Young Audrey’, who the production found through an audition process at ballet schools.
Watch the full trailer below:
