Damien Chazelle Directs Latest Film in Hennessy X.O’s Legendary Odyssey Saga

Hennessy has announced the global launch of Life is the Greatest Odyssey, a poignant visual experience directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Damien Chazelle. This marks the third instalment of the Maison’s Odyssey opus following successful collaborations with iconic directors Sir Ridley Scott (2019) and Nicolas Winding Refn (2016). 

Inspired by the idea that Each drop of Hennessy X.O is an Odyssey, the director of Whiplash, La La Land, First Man, and Babylon contemplates how the smallest of moments can trigger a disruptive Odyssey of thoughts and memories. The film is scored by Chazelle’s long-time collaborator and Academy Award winner composer Justin Hurwitz.

Juxtaposing space and time, Damien Chazelle introduces the story of a musician who finds himself swept away by his life’s memories in a whirlwind adventure where places, people, sound, music, and emotions coalesce over the span of one sip of Hennessy X.O cognac. In his characteristic cinematic signature, the director ends the piece on a note of gratitude and hopefulness, prompting viewers to look inward and reflect on their own lives.

“The film centres around the idea that the most fleeting of emotions can trigger an odyssey wherein childhood, early adulthood, and the future overlap," said Damien Chazelle, film director, screenwriter, and producer. "With Hennessy X.O I looked into one person’s memories while leaving the audience to complete the picture.” 

Prior to shooting the film in Prague, Damien Chazelle visited Hennessy’s Cognac cellars. An inspiring prelude that encouraged the decorated director to draw clear parallels between Hennessy’s artisanal methods and the art of filmmaking.

“In his epic Odyssey, Damien Chazelle delicately infuses each element of the film with the craftsmanship and timelessness of cognac-making,” said Laurent Boillot, president and CEO at Hennessy. “A French-American storyteller with a gift for rendering larger than life emotions on the screen, Damien is the ideal partner to encapsulate the greatness that lies in each single drop of Hennessy X.O cognac.”

“Life is the greatest Odyssey is the result of three years of work and the latest chapter of the Odyssey saga. It’s an homage to the greatness of a human life. In a way, X.O takes the form of Proust’s madeleine, taking us on a multi-sensorial journey through the past, present and future,” said Alexander Kalchev, CCO at DDB Paris. “Telling this story took hundreds of extras, hand-made sets designed by the wonderful Florencia Martin and the poetic beauty of Damien Chazelle’s delicate direction. It’s been an honour and privilege to work on this film and continue building the Hennessy X.O brand.”

Hennessy X.O’s cinematic series explores cognac’s seven tasting notes through different directors’ styles, visually articulating the complexity of the original extra old cognac through an epic Odyssey.