At the North American premiere of Priscilla, our Centerpiece selection, actors Cailee Spaeny & Jacob Elordi, costumer designer Stacey Battat, production designer Tamara Deverell, and producer Youree Henley discussed the film with NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim.
No one knew American pop icon Elvis Presley more tenderly during his superstar years than Priscilla Ann Wagner, whose own story as Elvis’s romantic partner and only wife has rarely been told. Director Sofia Coppola, who in her remarkable filmography has so often returned to intimate portraits of women living complicated lives behind closed doors, has found a subject exquisitely tailored to her interests. As portrayed with extraordinary poise and strength by Cailee Spaeny, Priscilla finally becomes the center of her narrative. Coppola follows her love affair with Elvis (an equally revelatory, larger-than-life Jacob Elordi), from her early years as a teenage army brat stationed in West Germany to her surreal arrival at Graceland, which becomes both her home and prison. With her customarily precise attention to texture and detail, Coppola has created one of her most stirring, vivid films, a tribute to a woman who was living in the public eye before she had truly experienced the world.
Enjoy this discussion with the team behind Priscilla, and don’t forget to subscribe here for more filmmaker conversations. Mark your calendars: Priscilla opens in theaters on November 3, courtesy of A24.
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