The story behind the writing of “Cyrano de Bergerac” debuts at Fisher Theatre
Sedona AZ (December 18, 2019) – The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of the acclaimed new film “Cyrano, My Love” Dec. 27-Jan. 2 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
December 1897, Paris. He’s got three weeks to write a masterpiece.
Edmond Rostand is not yet thirty, but he already has two children and a lot of anxieties. He hasn’t written anything for two years. In desperation, he offers the great Constant Coquelin a new play, a heroic comedy, written in verse for the holidays.
There is just one problem: the play hasn’t been written yet. Ignoring the whims of the actresses, the demands of his Corsican producers, his wife’s jealousy, his best friend’s relationship problems and the lack of enthusiasm of all those around him, Edmond begins to write the play that nobody believes in. For the time being, he only has the title: ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’.
“Delightful! A splendid origins story of ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’.” — Screen International
“ ‘Cyrano, My Love’ is a project that I have had in mind for more than fifteen years,” said director Alexis Michalik. “I first came up with the idea for it in 1999 when I saw ‘Shakespeare in Love’ at the cinema. In this film, Joe Madden — based on real facts — recounted how Shakespeare found inspiration and wrote his greatest masterpiece, ‘Romeo and Juliette’, inspired by a beautiful muse despite being crippled by debt. I then asked myself why we had never made a similar film in France.”
“A few years later I came across an information booklet which explained the circumstances surrounding the premiere of ‘Cyrano’. And once again, I thought about Madden’s film. I said to myself that it was unbelievable that nobody had ever thought to tell the greatest ‘success story’ of French theater. Indeed, it was also the last success story, as it came about just before the arrival of cinematography, meaning that films were then produced rather than plays.”
“Cyrano, My Love” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre Dec. 27-Jan. 2. Showtimes will be 7 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 27, 28 and 29; and 4 p.m. on Monday and Thursday, Dec. 30 and Jan. 2
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.