Cyrano

A musical version of the immortal story of one of the most famous and overpowering love triangles of all time. A man abundantly ahead of his time, Cyrano de Bergerac enchants audiences with his brilliant word games in verbal challenges and his extraordinary skill as a swordsman in duels. Yet Cyrano simply can’t find the courage to declare his love for the beautiful Roxanne, convinced as he is that he is too ugly to be worthy of her. She also happens to be his best friend. And she has fallen in love with another, Christian, at first sight.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT I had a clear idea of how to make the film. The first 3 acts of the 5-act structure would be shot in a late-17th-Century Baroque town called Noto. The camera would have a sense of freedom, a fluidity much less formal than any of my recent work. The film would be an irreverent celebration of life and a love letter to love. The last act of the film would be reduced to an almost minimalist style, as simple as, “I love you”. All the singing would be live. It would be intimate, we should hear their breathing, the tiny imperfections that would break our hearts.
In times of crisis we, as storytellers, have a responsibility to gather our community, large or small, around the proverbial campfire and try to help them heal. We do this by using the power of our imaginations to tell stories of emotional truth. To offer them light when the world feels impenetrably dark. To offer a place to connect to their emotions and a conduit to express them. A place of love and compassion. All my films have asked the same central question, “How do I connect with others and why do I so often fail to do so?”. All three of the film’s central characters are attempting connection and failing to do so. All three are in love but feel unworthy of the love they seek. And yet the attempt is all.