Making Marie Antoinette: The landmark documentary on the behind-the-scenes of Sofia Coppola’s film It was Eleanor Coppola, the director's mother, who stood behind the camera to capture this iconic shoot

Twenty years after the release of the cult film Marie Antoinette, the new documentary Making Marie Antoinette takes us behind the scenes. Through Eleanor Coppola's tender and intimate lens, the film reveals previously unseen footage from the making of a feature that defined 2000s cinema.

For the first time in history, the French government granted a film crew exceptional permission to take over the Palace of Versailles. For 20 intense and chaotic days - out of the 57-day shoot - the camera captured the bustle of the estate. Throughout production, Eleanor Coppola kept her camera trained on the behind-the-scenes action, but above all, on her daughter. In total, nearly 80 hours of footage were recorded.

Years later, during the Covid-19 lockdowns, mother and daughter set to work piecing these images together into a film. Although Eleanor passed away in 2024 before completing the project, Sofia Coppola was determined to bring it to fruition. To bring her mother's voice to life and read from her journals, she enlisted actress Diane Lane.

The word that best describes Making Marie Antoinette is undoubtedly tenderness. Intimate and deeply moving, this feature serves as a posthumous time capsule, fueled not only by Eleanor's passion for filmmaking but also by her unconditional love for her daughter. In one of her journal entries, Eleanor wrote: "I’m basically a shy person, and I hate to intrude. It’s counter to my personality to shoot a documentary, but over and over, I do it. […] It’s a rare opportunity to see my child at work, to be included in her world."

The documentary Making Marie Antoinette is available to stream starting today on MUBI.