''Wonder Boy'' (french: Wonder Boy, Olivier Rousteing, né sous X, ) is a 2019 French documentary film directed by Anissa Bonnefont covering the personal and professional life of

Olivier Rousteing Olivier Rousteing (; born September 13, 1985) is a French fashion designer. He has been the creative director of Balmain since 2011. Early life and education Rousteing was adopted by his parents at the age of 1. Rousteing's mother is an optici ...

, the creative director of Balmain, as he searches for his biological parents. The film was first shown on the television channel Canal+ on 16 October 2019 and was released in French theatres on 27 November.

Production

first met

when he bought a residence from her mother, where they bonded over their experiences with parent abandonment as children. Bonnefont encouraged Rousteing to search for his biological parents, which he had earlier hesitated to do, and persuaded Balmain to allow her to make a film on the search with certain terms: "no posing" from Rousteing, full access to Balmain, and control over the final cut. She financed the production cost herself, raising () of funds from a variety of sources, including the French government. Balmain assisted with the licensing fees for the soundtrack during post production. Filming began in 2017 and took around one-and-a-half years to complete; Bonnefont stated that the relationship between her and Rousteing "became like brother and sister" during production.

Release and reception

After test showings and a private screening for Balmain shareholders in June 2019, the film was broadcast on the television channel Canal+ on 16 October before being released in French theatres on 27 November. It was made available for streaming internationally on

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

on 26 June 2021. Reception of the film was positive, with critics praising the "peek behind the curtain" into Rousteing's emotions and loneliness behind the public image of his life. ''Wonder Boy'' was nominated for the

César Award for Best Documentary Film The César Award for Best Documentary Film (french: César du meilleur film documentaire) is an award presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma since 1995. History In 1995, director Marcel Ophüls protested that his film, t ...

at the

45th César Awards The 45th César Awards ceremony, presented by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma, took place on 28 February 2020, at the Salle Pleyel in Paris to honour the best French films of 2019. Sandrine Kiberlain presided, and Florence Forest ...

, ultimately losing to Yolande Zauberman's ''M''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt9176600 2010s French films 2019 documentary films 2019 films 2010s French-language films French documentary films Films about fashion designers Films about fashion in France