How do you begin to relate the wildly accomplished and tumultuous life of Audrey Hepburn? If you’re Helena Coan, director of the forthcoming Audrey, you start with the Oscar winner’s love of ballet. Coan partnered with the Royal Ballet’s Wayne McGregor to choreograph dance-based “portraits” of the Funny Face legend for the project – interweaving them with never-before-seen archive footage of Hepburn’s movies and travels for the landmark documentary.
Dancing the part of Audrey at the height of her fame? None other than Francesca Hayward – while prima ballerina assoluta Alessandra Ferri tackles her later years as a UNICEF ambassador. Up-and-coming composer Alex Somers has written the score, which pays tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood films that made Hepburn a star. “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,” Coan explained of her creative decisions while releasing the trailer.
And while ballet is certainly at the heart of the film, Audrey also homes in on the actor’s role as a fashion icon. (It is being produced by the team behind McQueen, after all.) Former artistic director of Givenchy, Clare Waight Keller, speaks to Hepburn’s status as muse to Hubert de Givenchy – while Tiffany & Co alumnus John Loring details the brand’s lengthy relationship with the Breakfast at Tiffany’s star, including loaning her the 128.54-carat Fancy Yellow Tiffany Diamond. On a more personal note, meanwhile, 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.
Watch the trailer in full, below.
