Footing The Bill

The best-paid European star on-screen at this year's Festival de Cannes is not even an actor. And after the festival, he'll be performing on the world's largest media stage for the last time before retiring, at 34.

Zinedine Zidane led France's soccer squad to World Cup glory in 1998, and has since been one of the "galacticos," the stellar performers at the world's richest club, Real Madrid, with an annual income of about $19 million. He will be leading his country in one last World Cup campaign this summer.

Originally from Marseilles, Zidane was once a trainee footballer at the Cannes soccer club. This month he'll make his return to the Riviera city starring on the big screen in "Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait," which screens in the official selection, and "Dream Team," a documentary about his teammates when he started out, which screens in Critics Week.

Directed by two contemporary artists, Frenchman Philippe Parreno and British artist Douglas Gordon, "Portrait" promises to be an intriguing study of a sportsman in full flow. The film follows Zidane in real time for the duration of a single match, with 17 synchronized super 35mm and high-definition cameras placed around the stadium at spectator level all focusing on the player. The film is overlaid in places with Zidane's thoughts, and during halftime, shows images of what was going on in the world on the day of the match.

"Portrait" was shot by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Darius Khondji and the soundtrack mixed by Oscar winner Tom Johnson.

The film will be released in France by UIP on May 24 on about 250 prints, the day after its Cannes premiere.

"One of France's most popular stars and a contemporary art film appeal to very different audiences, and we've got to try and reach both," says Camille Trumer, president of UIP France. Despite Zidane's golden touch on the pitch, it remains to be seen if this will transfer to the big screen. "I find it very hard to estimate how many people this film will appeal to but it's a work of art, of that I'm certain," Trumer says.

"This is nothing like a classic soccer film. It's a portrait of a man with whom the audience identifies completely, and they feel like they're right by his side — it's a new cinematic experience," says Anna Vaney of Anna Lena Films, which co-produced the movie with Sigurjon Sighvatsson.

"Zidane embodies certain values and represents a great deal to many people — he's the most elegant player in the world," Vaney says. "The film couldn't have been made with any other footballer. His character is why the film had to be made."