Once upon a time, there was Zénon Ligre, an alchemist and physician of the 16th century, whose peregrinations are told by Marguerite Yourcenar in L’Œuvre au noir, a novel published in 1968.
Once upon a time, the Belgian filmmaker André Delvaux adapted the novel to the cinema, after long exchanges epistolary with the author, in 1988.
Once upon a time, the Italian actor Gian Maria Volontè played Zénon Ligre in the film by André Delvaux.
Once upon a time, Martine Barbé proposed to Françoise Levie to make a film about Marguerite Yourcenar.
Once upon a time, Françoise Levie collaborated with Luc Jabon to write the script for this film.
Once upon a time, the actors Johan Leysen and Marie-Christine Barrault who had played in the adaptation of Delvaux and who play Delvaux and Yourcenar in Zénon, l’Insoumis, a film directed by Françoise Levie in 2019.
Once upon a time, there was Zeno, a character who crossed the centuries, from the Renaissance to our days, a character representative of his era but also of ours.