The 68th Cannes Film Festival begins on Wednesday 13th May and the Le Mans 24 Hours will be present on an exceptional basis because of the film, Steve McQueen, The Man and Le Mans, in homage to Steve McQueen, which will have its worldwide première on Saturday 16th May.
Steve McQueen was a passionate motor sport enthusiast and he was literally bewitched by the Le Mans 24 hours to the point that he devoted a full-length feature film, which has become a legend in its own right, to the race: Le Mans was shot in 1970 and released in 1971.
The American star’s obsession with Le Mans gave journalist, Andrew Marriott, the idea to create a full-length documentary on the subject. The Man & Le Mans directed by John McKenna and Gabriel Clarke tells the story not only of the actor’s wish to make the most complete film on motor sport, but also the heavy financial and personal consequences that McQueen had to cope with to ensure that Le Mans actually got made.
For the purposes of this documentary actors and drivers like Derek Bell, David Piper and Jonathan Williams (who drove the Porsche 908 with its special on-board camera to film the very spectacular on-track action sequences), who appeared in the original film, script writers, technicians and McQueen’s assistants who collaborated on it were all interviewed. The result is a series of first-hand accounts from people who worked on this legendary movie. These also include interviews with Neile Adams, McQueen’s wife at the time, and their son Chad McQueen that make a moving contribution to the story.
During the shooting of the film at Le Mans Chad was 10 years old, and for the requirements of the documentary premiered in Cannes he returned with the film crew to Le Mans in July 2014 during Le Mans Classic. Never-before-seen archives including numerous shots and sound tracks discovered by the film’s archivist, Richard Wiseman, as well as sequences specially shot during the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours and Le Mans Classic, pepper this original, moving documentary.
The Man & Le Mans will be shown on Saturday 16th May in the Cannes Classic section in the presence of the film crew and Steve’s son, Chad McQueen. The film will go on general release in November 2015.
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