''A Magnificent Life'' () is a 2025 animated biography film written and directed by

Sylvain Chomet Sylvain Chomet (; born 10 November 1963) is a French comic writer, animator and film director. Early career Born in Maisons-Laffitte, Seine-et-Oise (now Yvelines), near Paris, he studied art at high school until he graduated in 1982. Chomet m ...

. The film had its world premiere at the Special Screenings section of the

2025 Cannes Film Festival The 78th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 13 to 24 May 2025. French actress Juliette Binoche served as jury president for the main competition. Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi won the Palme d'Or, the festival's top prize, for the drama ...

on 17 May 2025, and will be theatrically released in France by

Wild Bunch The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, or the Oklahombres, were a gang of American outlaws based in the Indian Territory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were active in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Terr ...

on 15 October 2025.

Summary

It follows the life of 60-year-old

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (, also ; ; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the . Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France's ...

, an acclaimed playwright, novelist and filmmaker, who is visited by a vision of his childhood self.

Cast

Laurent Lafitte Laurent Lafitte (born 22 August 1973) is a French actor. He is known for playing the role of Patrick in ''Elle''. In March 2016 he was named as the host of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival The 69th Cannes F ...

as Marcel Pagnol *

Géraldine Pailhas Géraldine Pailhas (born 8 January 1971) is a French actress. Career In 1992, she won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in ''La neige et le feu'', directed by Claude Pinoteau. She had her first international success in ...

as Augustine Pagnol

Production

On June 2021, the film was announced at the

Annecy International Animation Film Festival The Annecy International Animation Film Festival (, officially abbreviated in English as the Annecy Festival, or simply Annecy) was created in 1960 and takes place at the beginning of June in the town of Annecy, France. Initially occurring ever ...

, with Sylvain Chomet directing the film, and Aton Soumache and Ashargin Poiré serving as producers.

Release

In May 2022,

Sony Pictures Classics Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloo ...

acquired distribution rights to the film for North and Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, Scandinavia, India, Italy, airlines and ships. In May 2024,

Picturehouse Entertainment Picturehouse Cinemas is a network of cinemas in the United Kingdom, operated by Picturehouse Cinemas Ltd. and owned by Cineworld. The company runs its own film distribution arm, Picturehouse Entertainment, which has released acclaimed films s ...

acquired U.K. and Ireland distribution rights. The film is set for a release in France on 15 October 2025, by

, with a U.S release targeted for Q4 of the same year. The film had its world premiere at Special Screenings section of the

on 17 May 2025. It will also screen as a part of the official competition at the

2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival The 2025 Annecy International Animation Film Festival took place from 8 to 14 June 2025, in Annecy, France. Unlike previous editions, the festival opened with the world premiere of a selection of five shorts instead of a single feature-length film ...

Accolades

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Magnificent Life, A 2025 films Upcoming French-language films 2020s French-language films 2020s French films 2025 animated films Films directed by Sylvain Chomet French animated films French biographical films Sony Pictures Classics animated films Sony Pictures Classics films Wild Bunch (company) films Biographical films about dramatists and playwrights Biographical films about film directors and producers Marcel Pagnol French-language American films French-language Belgian films French-language Luxembourgian films