Tamara de lempicka

"There are no miracles. There is only what you make."

~ Tamara de Lempicka

Feature-Length Documentary

Currently in Post-Production

www.tamaradoc.com

Phone: 925.202.4890    Email: Julierubiofilm@gmail.com

ABOUT the film

"The True Story of Tamara De Lempicka & the Art of Survival" is a visually stunning and sweeping feature documentary that traces the life and survival of the renowned painter through her powerful paintings – from her rise to international stardom in 1920s Paris, to her move to the United States in 1940, fleeing the rise of fascism, and her revival in the current art market. Tamara de Lempicka was the preeminent Art Deco painter, known for her high-gloss sensual nudes and portraits of high society during the Jazz Age. She was marginalized and gained notoriety for her romantic liaisons with her models and her indulgent, decadent lifestyle, but she was so much more.

The film follows this remarkable émigrée as she reinvents herself multiple times, looking behind the veneer of the publicity she generated for herself and examining the bisexual Jewish artist who embodied talent, resilience, passion, and the relentless pursuit of artistic freedom. Told through her never-before-seen 8mm home movies and groundbreaking newly-discovered birth and baptism certificates, our film reveals her true name, heritage, and identity for the first time and will change art history.

Her popularity soars today; Madonna and Barbra Streisand are among her most notable collectors, and one of her paintings recently sold at auction for over $21.1 million, the third-highest amount ever paid for a work by a modern female artist. Throughout the film, we delve deeper into insights from our comprehensive interview with Broadway star Eden Espinosa, who is starring in "Lempicka: The Musical," set to premiere on Broadway in 2024. Additionally, 2024 will see a groundbreaking retrospective at San Francisco's Legion of Honor Museum, here in the United States.  


Why did it take so long for the United States to understand what European art collectors, Hollywood elite, and art historians have known all along? The film attempts to unravel this mystery and to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit as we discover through our interviews with art historians, independent-minded collectors, curators, and Hollywood and Broadway stars who single-handedly propelled her auction prices to record highs and recognized her intrinsic value. Tamara painted a legacy of determination, becoming a symbol of strength amidst a chaotic world. Drawing from firsthand accounts, passionate love affairs, and the cultural zeitgeist of the Roaring Twenties, this story is as much about the survival of the spirit as it is about the tempestuous art world.


Tamara broke down barriers and opened up doors for female artists. She led them into a world of creative choice. She put her struggle, turmoil, & truth onto the canvas. There you can see her humanity staring at you, exposing her secrets for all of us to witness. She was a brilliant, brave artist, and the hero of her own story. She was armed with her intellect, a talent, that talent earns her the right to claim her proper place in art history.


"I live life in the margins of society and the rules of normal society don’t apply to those who live on the fringe."

~ Tamara de Lempicka

<p>Tamara de Lempicka's <em>La Belle Rafaela</em>, painted in 1927, inspired Ellis Avery's novel <em>The Last Nude.</em> The art deco painter met Rafaela while on a walk in a Paris park. Rafaela became her model and her lover.<em></em></p>

"I was the first woman to paint cleanly, and that was the basis of my success."

~ Tamara de Lempicka

ARTISTIC APPROACH

The tone of the film embodies the energy and excitement that represents de Lempicka’s glamorous persona. We will use 2D motion graphics and animation to transition in and out of paintings, interviews, archival footage, and reenactments, featuring rich colors and a fluid, driving momentum, underscored by music that is reflective, but not replicative, of the era. 

The film will exude excitement, appeal, and spectacle; it will reflect the lifestyle and the aura of de Lempicka herself as she transitions and reinvents her own life. This approach will immerse the viewer in a fantastic painterly experience that reflects the sensuality and mood of de Lempicka’s work. 

"The beginning doesn’t matter as long as there’s a good end."

~ Tamara de Lempicka