As Marc by Sofia premieres at Venice Film Festival, the iconic director and design maverick opened up about their frank and fearless collaboration
At the 82nd Venice Biennale, Sofia Coppola unveiled her first documentary, Marc by Sofia – a collage of vintage film clips, fashion archives and iconic music references that offers a disarmingly honest portrait of designer Marc Jacobs. Departing from her usual fiction work, Coppola has crafted an atmospheric, deeply personal film that feels in step with her previous projects, like Marie Antoinette. Rather than a grand retrospective, it’s a nuanced, affectionate look at the internationally acclaimed fashion designer through the lens of their decades-long friendship.
The documentary follows Jacobs as he develops his Spring 2024 ready-to-wear collection, capturing both the spectacle of the runway and the quiet moments behind the scenes. Coppola’s signature style – layers of music and imagery, quiet intimacy and elliptical storytelling – guides the film, grounding it in both nostalgia and present-day vulnerability. “I wanted it to feel personal but never intrusive,” said the director, introducing the film at the festival alongside the designer and her team.
“We met in the early 90s, and I heard about Marc doing the grunge collection for Perry Ellis,” said Coppola of their introduction. “I asked my mum to take me to his studio. Marc came out and said hi, and we hit it off. We had these things in common – artists and music.” That initial spark would evolve into a creative friendship spanning decades. “I wanted to put a lot of love into this portrait of him.”
That sensibility – of friendship as creative glue – runs through the film. Rather than define Jacobs by collections or fame, it explores the porous line between his personal life and creative output. “I didn’t want it to be about me,” Coppola explained. “I wanted the audience to feel included, not like it was an inside joke they weren’t part of.”
This intimate bond between filmmaker and subject opens the film into unexpected territory, shifting between archival footage, personal memory and live recordings with organic fluidity. Editor Chad Sipkin described it as a non-linear collage: “It starts with a close conversation … then it explodes into a collage of people [Jacobs] knew, friends of friends – Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood – and all the musicals and music.” The result is more than a portrait of Jacobs; it’s a meditation on the networks of friendship and influence that have shaped his life and work.
Coppola engages with the fashion world not as a spectacle, but as a cinematic playground. “I was happy to film the show in a more cinematic way,” she said. “You usually see them documented for fashion, but we tried to be as invisible as possible.” She described the energy backstage as electric: “I’d never been backstage before to see that excitement and stress right before the show.” With long lenses and an unobtrusive style, Coppola turns catwalk moments into poetic visuals, where garments become part of a fleeting narrative.
Music and cinema remain key elements in Coppola and Jacobs’ connection. “We talk about movies a lot, and characters we love – it’s part of our inspiration,” she said. Over the years, Coppola has directed videos and designed bags for Jacobs, while her film characters – like those in Lost in Translation – have worn his designs. “The music, like the visuals, was a collage of what we loved,” she said. “These are songs that shaped his work and carried the energy of Marc’s world.” Footage from the Saint Laurent Foundation, previously unseen by Coppola, also makes an appearance. “I hope it can inspire young people interested in fashion.”
Jacobs, known for his fearless design ethos, brings that same honesty to the screen. “I’ve chosen to be very open and honest towards what others might feel shame around,” he said. “The only way to do that is to be frank.” Reflecting on his first Vogue cover, he added: “People asked, ‘Why are you still taking the subway?’ – as if one cover made me a billionaire. Of course, it didn’t.” His candour adds emotional weight to a film that refuses to glamourise for its own sake.
The lack of a conventional narrative structure or script becomes part of the film’s charm. Producer Chad Sipkin described the film as “an exercise in vulnerability and creative risk”, noting that both Coppola and Jacobs were stepping into unfamiliar territory. Despite their established careers, the pair were exploring new ways to express themselves. Coppola herself echoed the sentiment: “Doing something new is invigorating. There’s a point where you don’t know where you’re going, and it’s a mess, and you just have to trust yourself and the process.”
In many ways, Marc by Sofia is also a return to Coppola’s roots – “back then we were just kids learning how to make things,” as she noted. “On this project, I filmed in that same way – with just my brother, a camera and a sound person. I wanted to make something personal.” Producer Jane Cha Cutler described Coppola as “a decisive director, but also a gentle one.” That duality – guiding without intruding – defines the film’s tone.
In Venice, where spectacle is a currency of its own, Marc by Sofia stood out precisely because it resisted superficiality. Instead, it offers a cinema of friendship – two artists, still talking, still creating, still finding new ways to look at the world together. “I wanted to make something joyful and uplifting,” Coppola said, and that spirit permeates the film, which traces moments in a celebrated career through Coppola’s elegantly intimate yet cutting lens.
