Oscar®-winning set and costume designer, photographer, writer and painter Cecil Beaton was not only a dazzling chronicler, but an arbiter of his time. From the “Bright Young Things” to the front lines of war to the international belle monde and the pages of Vogue and then onto the Queen’s official photographer, Beaton embodied the cultural and political changes of the twentieth century.

 

In this tender portrait, director Lisa Immordino Vreeland (Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To TravelPeggy Guggenheim: Art Addict) blends archival footage and photographs with voice over of Beaton’s famed diaries to capture his legacy as a complex and unique creative force. Dynamic and lyrical, Love, Cecil is an examination of Beaton’s singular sense of the visual, which dictated a style that set standards of creativity that continue to resonate and inspire today. The film is narrated by Rupert Everett.

 

Speaking about her film, Vreeland said “Cecil Beaton has been in my visual orbit for as long as I can remember. As a child, I loved My Fair Lady and have been passionate about photography for many years. My experience as a filmmaker has allowed me to delve in depth into the lives of visionaries who I have long admired. Beaton was someone who intrigued me. His driving ambition was paramount in his life. His creative drive dominated him and ultimately he sacrificed everything just for that. I have often said that my work is dictated by the archives I have access to. In the case of this film, this played an even more fundamental role.”

 

Check out the trailer for Love, Cecil below and click here to pre-order your copy. It’s coming to DVD in October.

 

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