DOCUMENTARY | 75 MIN | 2019 | FRANCE | DIR: MARC DI DOMENICO, CHARLES AZNAVOUR | M | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

In 1948, French superstar Édith Piaf gifted Charles Aznavour a Paillard-Bolex film camera that became his constant companion over more than three decades – on tour, backstage, and with which Aznavour also documented his personal life. In 2017, the year before his death, Aznavour invited filmmaker Marc di Domenico to his home and entrusted the complete film footage to the director.

This documentary is the result, an absorbing film and one in which Aznavour is posthumously credited as co-director, capturing the world around him and as he saw.

Overlaid with narration (by French actor Romain Duris) freely adapted from Aznavour’s diaries and other written sources, the film delves beyond the singer’s celebrity facade to mine personal history including his parents' perilous exodus out of Armenia, Aznavour’s early years in Montmartre, his relationships with (successive) wives, and his travels across the globe, interwoven with behind-the-scenes footage of club dates and concerts, including at New York City’s Carnegie Hall. A seemingly endless parade of French and international stars including Catherine Deneuve, Dalida, Anouk Aimee, Kirk Douglas, Sammy Davis Jr., and many more fabulous others make ‘cameos’ throughout.

Content warning: Occasional mild coarse language and nudity