Chevalier is a new film directed by Stephen Williams, written by Stefani Robinson, based on the life of the French – Caribbean musician Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr., also starring Samara Weaving, Lucy Boynton, Marton Csokas, and Minnie Driver.

Chevalier premiered at the 2022 TIFF September 11, 2022, and was officially released in the United States April 21, 2023 by Searchlight Pictures. Please support this outstanding film in theaters now.

“The rise and resurgence of Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a French-Caribbean violinist, and composer who rose to fame through his musical prodigy. But a complicated love life and the racism of the ancien régime leads to a falling out with Marie Antoinette, and Saint-Georges realizes that things must change.”

Chevalier was directed by Stephen Williams, a Canadian film and television director. Williams has directed several modern-day television programs including work as a regular director on the ABC drama series LOST, where he was also a co-executive producer. Williams is married to Jocelyn Snowdon and the couple has a daughter together, also in addition to Stephen’s twin sons, Gabriel and Justis. The couple now resides in the Los Angeles area. Stephen’s brother is actor Peter Williams, best known for playing the Goa’uld Apophis on the hit sci-fi tv series Stargate SG-1. In 1995, Stephen Williams wrote and directed the film Soul Survivor, which starred his brother Peter in the main role.

As of this writing, the film has an approval rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s critical consensus reads, “Supported by Kelvin Harrison, Jr.’s outstanding work in the title role, Chevalier offers an entertaining gateway into the incredible life of a brilliant artist.”

In real life, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (December 25, 1745 – June 10, 1799) was a French Creole, a champion fencer, a virtuoso violinist and composer, and as a free man of color conducting leading orchestras in Paris. During the French Revolution, he volunteered in the War of the First Coalition against Austria and headed a regiment, the American Cavalry Legion. In 1796 he left for Saint-Domingue, then in full revolt and attacked by British troops. Within a few months, he returned to France and spent the remainder of his colorful life devoted to his violin.

Saint-Georges was born in the then-French colony of Guadeloupe, the son of the wealthy married planter Georges de Bologne Saint-Georges, and a pretty enslaved Senegalese African woman named Nanon. At the age of seven, he was taken to France by his father, where he was educated at a private academy and studied horse riding, fencing, and dancing along with the white French noble children. At fifteen he was beating the strongest fencer and was appointed “gendarme de la garde” by King Louis XVI.

Today, Chevalier de Saint-Georges is remembered as the earliest European musician / composer, of partial African descent, to receive widespread critical acclaim. He published numerous string quartets, sonatas, and two symphonies. In addition to his many violin concertos, Saint-Georges also composed several stage works (opéra comique).