For a number of years I worked on the periphery of the film industry and I still have a few contacts who let me know what’s going on.
2024 seems to have been a good year for motorsport enthusiasts with a number of films in production or hitting the cinema screen or download services. Hot off the press I have been told of a new film that has literally just started filming. With a working title of Villenueve: Rise of a champion the film is directed by Daniel Roby and tells the story of Gilles Villeneuve and his early F1 experiences.
The film is currently being shot in Canada and focuses on his snowmobile career and early motorsport career up to signing with Ferrari. Set in Quebec starting in 1970, Rémi Goulet will plays Villeneuve as he rises from a modest background. Rosalie Bonenfant stars as his wife.
It is being billed as one of the most expensive productions in recent Quebec
cinema history. Gilles Villeneuve is still recognised today as the most spectacular driver in the history of Formula 1. The film is supported by the of the Villeneuve family. It is expected to be available in summer 2025.
Joseph Gilles Henri Villeneuve (January 18, 1950 – May 8, 1982) spent six years in Formulae One, racing for Ferrari, winning six Grands Prix. An enthusiast of cars and fast driving from an early age, Villeneuve started his professional career in snowmobile racing. He moved into single seaters, winning the US and Canadian Formula Atlantic championships in 1976, before being offered a drive in Formula One with the McLaren team at the1977 British Grand Prix. He was taken on by reigning world champions Ferrari for the end of the season and drove for the Italian team from 1978 until his death in 1982. Villeneuve won six Grand Prix races in a short career at the highest level.
Villeneuve died in a 140 mph (230 km/h) crash resulting from a collision with the March car driven by Jochen Mass during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix His son, Jacques became Formula One World Champion in 1997 and is to date the only Canadian to win the Formula One World Championship.