CANNES.- Rarely an actress had been so beautiful and touched as many people as she did. Rarely such a young and famous actress had been able to achieve such an incredible career whereas she was always trying to escape her own legend. Rarely a star had been at the same time such blessed by god and hit by destiny. Rarely a woman had been so bright and tortured. Rarely a stranger portrayed France as she did.

All these paradoxes are highlighted during the exhibition. Rare documents, personal objects, professional souvenirs, unpublished pictures and testimonies tell the itinerary of an actress and a passionate woman who touched people in their heart, in their most intimate and secret feelings and who lived along with the History of the century.

The organizers want the exhibition to match up to who was Romy, who she is and all the things she portrays. They want the visitors to be touched by her grace and her beauty, by the life she radiated despite all the dramas she had to go through, by the evidence of her talent, by the richness of her career and the people she met. They want to show her beautiful, alive, and contemporary.

The exhibition follows a chronological order, with steps forward and backward. The succession of thematic scenes transport the visitor inside Romy Schneider’s life and career, both guided by passion.

Archive documents, photos and original posters, old reviews from her days, unexpected testimonies, jewels, awards and personal belongings, souvenirs from her producers, her partners and her fans, unseen letters, scenarios, pictures at work, costumes, theatre programs, objects showing the impact she had already when she was really young and the function she played in the European reconciliation feed this rich exhibition. It is built from one side as a fascinating trip inside another time and on the other side as an introduction into Romy Schneider’s life, the intimacy of a woman, of an actress whose life was hit by destiny.

ROMY’S CINEMA...
It is obviously the underlying thread of this exhibition.

Throughout the thematic scenes, the visitors walk along the complete Romy Schneider filmography and are able to step longer by the most important movies she played in. Original posters from France, Germany or other countries, unseen pictures of shootings, costumes, press packs, photo-stories, movies’ excerpts, trailers, producers and partners interviews, issues of her days tell the career of this German actress who became during the 70’s the favorite actress of French people.

LIKE HER MOTHER
The young days of a star.
Theatre and cinema are part of a long family tradition at the Albach-Retty’s. Son of a great theatre actress, Wolf, Romy’s Father, is an actor which started to have a great reputation pre-war years. Nevertheless, it is next to her mother, Magda Schneider which glory happened in the 30’s, that Romy started acting at 15 for the cinema. Her success happened right after and she became the most famous of both mother and daughter! They played together in 8 movies. First steps, first loves, first pictures, first newspaper covers…

THE CONSECRATION, THE LEGEND
From “Sissi“ to “Ludwig”,
Empress Elisabeth of Austria’s ghost.
Romy became an international star at 20 after the release of three movies telling the destiny of young Elisabeth of Austria. Despite the fame that these movies brought her, Romy had always wanted to escape this pink, mushy image. Sissi stayed a burden during a long time for Romy until Luchino Visconti, one of her Masters, offers her to play this character again in Ludwig, a new version, more realistic. From Sissi to Elisabeth and Romy, the exhibition will show these three characters with dresses, rare posters, pictures of the shootings...

LOVE AND FRANCE
Alain, Luchino and the others
Romy chose Alain Delon as her partner in Christine, he was about to become two times her destiny instrument. Indeed, the first time, inspired by the love she had for him, she found the energy to leave her family and Germany to come to France, her adopted country.

There she met long term friends: Jean-Claude Brialy and Luchino Visconti who gave to Romy her first sensual woman part. From this, she found her legitimacy.

The second time, Alain Delon offers her to be his partner in La Piscine, without knowing he was opening a new door to her: the most beautiful.

From a legendary couple to a cinema couple, from a love story to friendship stories, the exhibition will show emoting souvenirs and pictures.

HELL
A mythical but unfinished movie.
In 1964, Henri-George Clouzot at the top of his glory offers to Romy a drama about jealousy: L’Enfer.

L’Enfer, hell litterally, could not be a better title for this movie. The budget was unlimited leading to the use of new technologic and artistic trials. Romy, completely free, is more beautiful and moving than ever. Unfortunately, the shooting was interrupted after three weeks!

The part about L’Enfer at the exhibition is a scene aside from the rest. It is a little room devoted to this mythical, unfinished movie. Incredible pictures that remained secret during more than 45 years will be shown.

A FRENCH LADY
A key meeting: Claude Sautet.
When he offered her Les Choses de la vie, before the release of «La Piscine», none of them was imagining that they had just found their alter ego. He found her muse. She found her Pygmalion. High standards, rigor, sensibility and beauty will impact their five movies: Les Choses de la vie, Max et les ferrailleurs, César et Rosalie, Mado, Une Histoire simple.

Thanks to him, she became the favorite actress of French people and the very French lady, modern, liberated, freed from her desires and feelings, dealing with her standards and her contradictions. Romy Schneider adopted the French Nationality, settling her strings to France and acting in favor of the Franco-German reconciliation.

Letters, scenarios, shooting pictures, drawings will tell one of the most beautiful cinema stories in France.

LIVING HISTORY AND FACIING DEATH
For probably lots of reasons, at the end of the 70’s, Romy never stopped shooting movies about the historic chapter of World War II. Is it because of the influence of Harry Meyen, whose father was deported at 19? Is it because of the ghost of history in France and Germany where this subject was less taboo than before? is it to reinforce the Franco German reconcilliation? Who knows? Lots of movies with Romy recount the story: Le Train, Le Vieux Fusil, Une Femme à sa fenêtre, Portrait de groupe avec dame and La Passante du Sans Souci, her last movie that she initiated. At the same time, she shot very strong, powerful and torturing movies willing to explore all the dark places of the human soul: Le Trio infernal, L’Important c’est d’aimer», Clair de femme, La Mort en direct, La Banquière...

These characters are the spitting image of her own torments, her own pains and her own sorrows. Despite some great happiness and in particularly the birth of Sarah, her daughter with Daniel Biasini, her life is a real tragedy: Harry Meyen’s suicide, the accidental death of her son David... Destiny is unforgivable to her, she won’t survive it.

Unseen archives, old documents, producer souvenirs, costumes, awards, work pictures tell the story of this rich and moving period of her life.

THE EVERLASTING ROMY
She inspired lots of photographs and today she is still a model for many actresses such as Vanessa Paradis, Diane Kruger or Isabelle Carré.

A portraits gallery to enter in eternity.