Making Marie Antoinette

In 2005, Sofia Coppola shot her third feature film, Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman, at the Palace of Versailles, securing unprecedented filming permission that had never before been granted to any production. Her mother, acclaimed documentarian Eleanor Coppola, accompanied her on set, capturing approximately eighty hours of footage chronicling her daughter’s journey throughout the making of the film. This year, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the release of Marie Antoinette and in fulfilment of her mother’s wish, Sofia Coppola reviewed that previously unseen material. Making Marie Antoinette explores the craftsmanship and care that brought the film to life, follows legendary costume designer Milena Canonero at work, and offers a glimpse into what it meant to be a young female director at that time. The result is a fascinating look at the creative process behind a landmark film and, at the same time, a surprisingly intimate family portrait. In the documentary, Eleanor Coppola’s voice is performed by Academy Award® nominee Diane Lane, who reads excerpts from Eleanor’s diaries, in which the filmmaker recounts her experience on set and reflects on her relationship with her daughter.

Eleanor Coppola (1936–2024) was an Emmy- and DGA Award–winning filmmaker, screenwriter, and non-fiction director. Known for her observational documentary style, intimate behind-thescenes cinema portraits, and late-career narrative features, her work in film spanned more than six decades. After earning a B.A. in Applied Design from UCLA, Coppola entered the film industry in 1962 working as an assistant art director on the Roger Corman–produced horror thriller Dementia 13 in Ireland. It was on this production that she met the film’s young director, Francis Ford Coppola; the two married in 1963, launching a lifelong personal and creative partnership. Coppola gained major cinematic prominence for her behind-the-scenes documentary coverage of the notoriously chaotic production of Apocalypse Now in the Philippines. Her raw 16mm footage and diary audio recordings became the core of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991). The film received critical acclaim, earning Coppola the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing in Informational Programming and the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. She went on to direct behind-the-scenes documentaries chronicling seven films, including Coda: Thirty Years Later (2007). At age 80, Coppola made her narrative feature directorial debut with the romantic comedydrama Paris Can Wait (2016), starring Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. She followed it with the anthology drama Love Is Love Is Love (2020), directing and co-writing three stories exploring human connection and commitment. Alongside her film career, Coppola maintained a distinguished practice as a conceptual visual artist—exhibiting photography, drawings, and multi-sensory installations like Circle of Memory internationally—and authored two acclaimed memoirs, Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now (1979) and Notes on a Life (2008). Eleanor Coppola passed away at her home in Rutherford, California, on April 12, 2024, leaving behind a profound legacy in cinematic storytelling.

Selected filmography:
2019 LOVE IS LOVE
2016 PARIS CAN WAIT
2007 CODA: THIRTY YEARS LATER (DOCUMENTARY)
1991 HEARTS OF DARKNESS: A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE (DOCUMENTARY)