Playing between the big attention-grabbing Competition entries, and the lesser-known oddities that invariably characterise the Cannes film festival selection, was a brand new restoration of Roman Polanski's 1972 documentary Weekend Of A Champion, representing for the non-fiction side of the coin. The documentary, which WhatCulture's Simon Gallagher caught out in France, is clearly a labour of love by racing nut Polanski, who focused his camera on Sir Jackie Stewart's grand prix appearance in Monaco over one rainy weekend in '72. The restoration adds some gloss, as well as a new 10 minute segment featuring a present day conversation between Polanski and Stewart, both returning to the Monte Carlo hotel suite the driver has used at the time of filming. They talk the film, as well as the genesis of the sport, and it makes for an intriguing section. It's a film for genuine fans of the sport (there's not much challenging, but then Polanski set out to celebrate, not berate,) and one that deserves to be rediscovered if and when you get the chance. As part of the pre-release marketing campaign, I was given the opportunity to follow in Polanski's footsteps somewhat, by interviewing Sir Jackie Stewart myself ahead of Cannes, and with the film having now enjoyed its official screenings on the Croisette, it's time to turn attention back to this interview, in which we discussed the film. How did the making of the film come about?
I was good friends with Roman at the time, he had been to F1 testing on a few occasions and knew a lot about the sport. He came up with the idea and asked me, it sounded like it could prove quite interesting so naturally I wanted to take part. As for the re-make Roman called me and said 'Well, we're both still here, would you like to re-visit this?' So we went back, same hotel, same suite in the Hotel du Paris and filmed some new pieces that my son Mark helped edit with his own production company. How was Monaco chosen as the 'one' to film?
Roman himself chose Monte Carlo, he was an F1 fan and knew the tradition behind the track so along with the glamour and personalities that attended it was a natural choice. F1 is a high pressure sport, did you feel any extra pressure due to being filmed throughout the weekend?
Not at all, I was already an F1 Champion by this point. I won the title in '69, and had a bad car in '70 but everything was there. As it turned out it was a perfect choice for that race to be filmed, taking pole position and winning the race! Added to that, Roman was never intrusive. He managed to film it, by himself I add, without getting in my way all weekend, it felt like a standard weekend for me back then. Do you feel now that you've come full circle from the dis-liked Champion, due to your safety campaign, to the loved Champion of the past?
Well, we haven't lost a driver in 19 years and I'm very proud that I spoke out for safety. During my time in racing the fatality toll was horrendous, the chances were against every driver, we were sat on top of fuel tanks and there wasn't all the safety that we have now. At that time in Monaco you still had bollards to tie ships to at the side of the track, no run off area and the kerbs were like street kerbs. Nowadays you have chamfered kerbs, gravel traps, everything is designed to slow the car down and help the body withstand the impact. I'm proud of helping bring that into F1. We talked the film some more, and Sir Jackie confirmed that he also has another film in the pipeline, with Bill Pohlad putting together a Feature film about his relationship with Francois Cevert, the Frenchman who tragically died in what was to be Stewart's last race. It sounds like it will be an emotional rollercoaster and with the landslide of F1 films is sure to be hugely popular.