The Weinstein Company is proud to announce the release of  YVES SAINT LAURENT, directed by Jalil Lespert, and starring Pierre Niney as the legendary fashion designer.  The young design genius who left French Algeria as a teenager to work for Christian Dior, took over the House of Dior at age 21 in January 1958. He and his partner, Pierre Bergé, famously launched their own fashion label in 1962, and the rest is history.   YVES SAINT LAURENT is scheduled to open in New York and Los Angeles on Wednesday, June 25 followed by engagements nationwide.

Brilliantly capturing YSL’s shyness, charm, and artistic bravado, Pierre Niney morphs into the role without so much as a wrinkle. Drawing upon a vast archive of original material (made available to the production by the 83-year-old Pierre Bergé -- 5,000 dresses, 15,000 accessories, and 35,000 sketches), director Jalil Lespert puts the designer’s groundbreaking work on screen. Still gloriously beautiful are his Mondrian dresses, tuxedos for women, pea coats, and peasant blouses, culminating in Saint Laurent’s 1976 iconic Opéra-Ballet Russes collection.

The film poignantly limns both YSL’s vibrant success and downward spiral. Guillaume Gallienne plays the furiously loyal, stalwart Pierre Bergé, patron of the arts, future love of Yves’ life and lifelong business partner.  The film was shot on location in Paris and Morocco in some of the actual places where Saint Laurent lived and worked.

After studying law, 37 year-old director Jalil Lespert turned to acting in 1995. He made his film debut in Laurent Cantet’s Beach Games, went on to play in films by Alain Resnais, Xavier Beauvois, Robert Guédiguian and Lou Ye, among others, earning a César for Best Male Newcomer for his second collaboration with Cantet, Human Resources.  While continuing to perform, he embarked on a directing career in 2006. YVES SAINT LAURENT is his third feature film as a director.

25 year-old Pierre Niney has been acting since the age of 11. A graduate of Paris’ prestigious acting schools Le Cours Florent and National Conservatory of Dramatic Art, he was invited to join France’s historic national theatre company La Comédie Francaise in 2010. In parallel to his stage work, he has continued his film career winning a Best Actor Award at the Cabourg Romantic Film Festival for “It Boy” and a César nomination for Best Male Newcomer for his comedic performance in “J’aime regarder les filles." He has also directed short films and created two seasons of the satirical national French TV series “Castings”.

Canadian model turned actress Charlotte Le Bon plays Yves Saint Laurent's muse Victoire Doutreleau. This summer she will also be seen in Michel Gondry’s Mood Indigo and Lasse Halstrom’s The Hundred-Foot Journey. She has next been cast as French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s girlfriend opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Robert Zemeckis’ To Reach the Clouds.

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