Once Upon A Time Michel Legrand(Il Était une Fois Michel Legrand) Sydney Film Festival
8 June 2025
In the Playhouse
Cinema
France | 2024 | French | Documentary | U15+
The Oscar-winning composer and close collaborator of Jacques Demy is vividly evoked in never-before-seen archives and interviews with admirers and friends including Barbra Streisand.
| Date | Time |
| Sunday 8 June 2025 | 11:45am |
| Ticket | Price |
| Standard | $26 |
| Concession | $22 |
| Seniors | $22 |
| Youth (17 and Under) | $20 |
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection.
Young people under the age of 15 must be accompanied at all times.
The only authorised ticket agencies for this event is Sydney Opera House and Sydney Film Festival. Sydney Film Festival Flexipasses are only accepted on the Sydney Film Festival website, and must be redeemed before 12pm the day prior to the session. To purchase tickets with your Sydney Film Festival Flexipass, please visit here.
For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
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Wheelchair accessible:
There are a number of wheelchair and companion seating locations in our theatres. To book accessible seating contact Box Office:
Telephone
+61 2 9250 7777
(Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm AEST)
Email bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House.
Run time
The total duration of this film is approximately 109 minutes.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
The advertised start time is the introduction start time. Venue doors will open approximately 15 minutes before the advertised start time.
Age
This event is Unclassified (15+).
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy(link is external, opens in new tab or window).
Director David Hertzog Dessites, speaking to Festival CannesI’d like for people to watch the film and take away the image of a giant, the kind that may well soon be extinct. A warrior of his art.
Useful information:
A tribute to Michel Legrand featuring rare archival footage and interviews
The prolific composer and jazz virtuoso Michel Legrand created the unforgettable scores for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Yentl and The Thomas Crown Affair, while collaborations with figures like Jean-Luc Godard, Dusty Springfield and Miles Davis cemented his place in both music and film history. This Cannes selection is a heartfelt tribute to and vivid portrait of the man, blending rare archival footage with scenes from Orson Welles’s posthumous The Other Side of the Wind, Legrand’s final composer credit, and his triumphant last performance, in Seville in 2018. Made with intimate access to Legrand prior to his 2019 passing, Once Upon a Time celebrates a career defined by bold creativity and enduring melody.
Presented by Sydney Opera House and Sydney Film Festival
Credits
David Hertzog Dessites
Director
Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Thierry de Clermont-Tonnerre, David Hertzog Dessites
Producers
David Hertzog Dessites
Screenwriter
Nicolas Beauchamp, Riyad Cairat, Stan Olianker, Paul Olinger
Cinematographers
Margot Icher, Vincent Morvan, David Hertzog Dessites
Editors
Hi Gloss Entertainment
Australian Distributor
Sydney Film Festival
Sydney’s biggest celebration of cinema comes to Sydney’s most iconic cultural venue, with a diverse and exciting lineup of premieres from Australia and around the world, featuring director Q&A’s at select sessions. Some stories are too big for the small screen – see the bigger picture at Sydney Film Festival.
Plan your visit
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six minute walk to the Opera House.
Frequently asked questions
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Film Festival.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. Resale restriction applies. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend.
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
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