The ballet "Le sacre du printemps" ("The Rite of Spring"), whose famous premiere of May 29, 1913 is portrayed in the film, was for many years rarely performed as a ballet, but rather as a concert piece strictly for orchestra, or in a four-hand piano transcription. Nijinsky's original choreography was lost for decades, and later reconstructed for the Joffrey Ballet using archive materials and the participation of surviving original cast members. The music has been subsequently been reinterpreted by choreographers such as Paul Taylor, John Neumeier, Pina Bausch, and many others.
Both Chanel and its then chief designer Karl Lagerfeld lent their support to the film, allowing the production access to the company archives and to Coco Chanel's apartment at 31, rue Cambon, Paris.
The closing film of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
Released virtually concurrently with Anne Fontaine's Coco antes de Chanel (2009) with Audrey Tautou. Both films were released in the US by Sony Classics.