Making Marie Antoinette Screened in New York
The 64th New York Film Festival showcased a documentary featuring archival footage from the 2006 production.
Updated on Oct. 5, 2026 in Documentary
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The 64th New York Film Festival recently screened the documentary Making Marie Antoinette, which explores the creation of the 2006 historical drama. The film uses 80 hours of archival footage captured by the late Eleanor Coppola during the original production at the Palace of Versailles.
Why it matters
Sofia Coppola finalized the documentary following the 2024 death of her mother to preserve the original creative vision for the project. The work provides an intimate look at the intensive process behind the $40 million production.
The original 2006 film was produced on a budget of $40 million and completed over a 57-day shoot at the Palace of Versailles. Filmmakers synthesized this history from 80 hours of archival material.
The players
Sofia Coppola
She is an acclaimed filmmaker and daughter of Eleanor Coppola who oversaw the completion of the documentary.
Eleanor Coppola
She was a director and artist who captured the archival footage during the 2006 production of Marie Antoinette.
Diane Lane
She is an Academy Award-nominated actress who provided the narration for the documentary.
The details
Narrated by actress Diane Lane, the documentary offers reflections on the filmmaking process that took place two decades ago. The Coppola family began revisiting the extensive archives during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.
Timeline
The original film production occurred in 2006.
The family revisited the archival footage in 2020.
Eleanor Coppola passed away in 2024.
The documentary screened at the festival in October 2026.
Industry Dynamics
The documentary reflects a broader trend of filmmakers using personal archives to provide transparency into the complex legacy of high-budget studio productions. This retrospective look offers a departure from traditional promotional featurettes by focusing on the raw historical record of the 2006 production of Marie Antoinette.
The documentary provides viewers with a rare, behind-the-scenes perspective on how a $40 million feature film is constructed over an intensive two-month shoot. Interested audiences can look for future availability at film festivals following the premiere at the 64th New York Film Festival.
The takeaway
This project highlights the value of maintaining exhaustive production archives to tell stories that would otherwise be lost to time. Archiving raw footage throughout a production can provide filmmakers and families with the resources to create meaningful retrospective works years later.
Further reading
Learn more about current trends in the genre by visiting the Documentary section.
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