The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

The remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle magazine, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. Although his mind and imagination are perfectly intact, he is totally paralyzed other than his left eyelid. A painstaking, exhausting method of communication is developed between Bauby and his nurses, which he uses to begin writing his memoirs. As the challenges of Bauby’s fate leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life’s passions, his rich memories and his newfound imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries.

Director: Julian Schnabel
Executive Producer: Pierre Grunstein, Jim Lemley
Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Jon Kilik
Screenplay: Ronald Harwood, based on the book by Jean-Dominique Bauby
Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski
Editor: Juliette Welfing
Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Anne Consigny, Max von Sydow