Jacques Demy, profoundly attached to his childhood dreams, remained an unwavering moralist, committed to his cinematographic vision. Although he directed only 13 feature films, he achieved iconic status with classics such as Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Les Demoiselles de Rochefort and Donkey Skin. His filmography, remarkably coherent (if relatively short), is also marked by long periods of silence. Demy’s ability to enchant audiences, stemming from his personal struggles and self-doubt as a performer, established him as one of the greatest artists of French cinema. Written by Frédéric Bonnaud, director of the Cinémathèque française and directed by Florence Platarets (Godard par Godard, a Cannes Classics official selection in 2023), this documentary presents the first comprehensive portrait of the highly regarded Jacques Demy, a departure from Agnès Varda’s deeply personal works, Jacquot of Nantes (1990) and The World of Jacques Demy (1992).
Producers Rosalie Varda and Mathieu Demy, the children of Jacques Demy, granted the filmmakers exclusive access to their family archives for the first time ever. This treasure trove, combined with resources from around the world, made it possible to create a singular portrait of a man who devoted his life to the art of cinema.
My films are films in disguise. Often, the colour and music mask the true pessimism of the subject. Not to mention forced merriment. But I think I have the same approach to life. What you do and what you are are one and the same. I don’t differentiate.

Jacques Demy