
Michel Legrand, the late Oscar-winning composer and central figure in the widely influential French New Wave, is vividly evoked in never-before-seen archives and interviews with his many famous friends and admirers in David Hertzog Dessites’ heartfelt documentary, OnceUpon a Time Michel Legrand.
With a musical legacy spanning many decades, Legrand was the man behind dozens of iconic scores including Agnès Varda’s Cleo from 5 to 7, JacquesDemy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Barbra Streisand’s iconic musical Yentl. His collaborations with many of music’s biggest names are also fabled, none more so than Legrand’s collaborations with American jazz virtuoso Miles Davis, which produced the iconic album Legrand Jazz and the score to Australian director Rolf de Heer’s 1991 film Dingo.
A tribute to and vivid portrait of the man, the film blends rare archival footage with scenes from Orson Welles’s posthumous The Other Side of the Wind, Legrand’s final composer credit, and his triumphant last performance in Seville in 2018. Made with intimate access to Legrand prior to his 2019 passing, Once Upon a Time celebrates a career defined by bold creativity and enduring melody.
David Hertzog Dessites
2024
France
French / English
109
PG
Screening at the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2026
Tickets here
VIC
3:40 PM - Mon 9 Mar - Palace Balwyn Cinema
11:15 AM - Wed 18 Mar - The Kino
11:00 AM - Thu 19 Mar - Pentridge Cinema
10:30 AM - Sun 22 Mar - Palace Penny Lane
6:30 PM - Thu 26 Mar - The Kino
12:00 PM - Mon 30 Mar - Palace Balwyn Cinema
3:30 PM - Mon 30 Mar - Palace Penny Lane
11:10 AM - Tue 31 Mar - Palace Cinema Como
8:30 PM - Thu 2 Apr - Pentridge Cinema
NSW
11:15 AM - Wed 18 Mar - Palace Central
2:00 PM - Mon 30 Mar - Palace Moore Park
11:10 AM - Tue 31 Mar - Palace Norton St
2:15 PM - Thu 2 Apr - Roseville Cinemas
11:15 AM - Tue 7 Apr - Palace Central
ACT
6:30 PM - Thu 26 Mar - Palace Electric (EVENT - Melody & Memory)
11:10 AM - Tue 31 Mar - Palace Electric
WA
11:00 AM - Tue 7 Apr - Luna on SX
1:10 PM - Thu 9 Apr - Luna Leederville
4:00 PM - Mon 13 Apr - Luna Windsor
SA
6:30 PM - Thu 16 Apr - Palace Nova Eastend (EVENT - En Musique)
6:00 PM - Mon 20 Apr - Palace Nova Prospect
QLD
2:00 PM - Mon 30 Mar - Palace Barracks
11:10 AM - Tue 31 Mar - Palace James Street
6:30 PM - Wed 1 Apr - Palace Barracks (EVENT - Jazz Night)
10:45 AM - Thu 2 Apr - Palace James Street
Official Selection: Cannes Film Festival 2024, Cannes Classics
Official Selection: Sydney Film Festival 2025
Official Selection: Alliance Française French Film Festival 2026
“A vibrant and deeply moving tribute to the legendary composer”
Australian Arts Review



