Miles Davis love story ‘Miles & Juliette’ begins filming in Paris

Production has begun in Paris on Miles & Juliette, a new feature from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Bill Pohlad and his River Road Entertainment.

The film stars Damson Idris as jazz legend Miles Davis and Anamaria Vartolomei as French singer and actress Juliette Gréco. A first-look image from the project has been released.

The cast includes J. Alphonse Nicholson as drummer Kenny “Klook” Clarke, Jay Reeves as pianist Tadd Dameron, Grammy-winning musician and producer Terrace Martin as Charlie “Bird” Parker, Denny Love as James Moody, Lodric D. Collins as Max Roach and Hubert Point-Du Jour as John Coltrane.

Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Zora Howard, Miles & Juliette follows 22-year-old Davis during a transformative trip to Paris in 1949. There, he meets and falls in love with Gréco, who was emerging as a prominent figure on the city’s postwar Left Bank. The story explores the connection between two young artists before they became internationally known, against a backdrop of musical and cultural change.

Pohlad described the project as a story of a brief encounter between two artists that becomes something unexpected. He previously directed Love & Mercy, the biographical drama about Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson.

Pohlad and Andrew Van Wyk will produce for River Road, alongside Kim Roth and Dan Clifton. Mick Jagger and Victoria Pearman are producing through Jagged Films. France’s Why Not Productions is providing production services.

The creative team includes cinematographer Maryse Alberti, production designer Dan Weil, editor Sabine Hoffman and Grammy-winning musician Robert Glasper, who will compose the score and serve as music producer. Glasper previously produced the Miles Davis tribute album Everything’s Beautiful in 2016.

CAA Media Finance is handling North American rights. Further details, including a release date, have not been announced.