Embankment Films starts work on Greta Garbo feature documentary

Greta Garbo (Source: Fremantle/Alamy/Arnold Genthe)

UK-based Embankment Films has started production on Garbo: Leave Me Alone, a feature documentary about the life of Hollywood star Greta Garbo.

The film is planned for a Winter 2024 theatrical release and will air on Sky Arts in the UK next year, with Fremantle handing worldwide sales.

At age 35, with four Academy Award nominations, and a Best Actress win at the New York Film Critics Circle for her portrayal of Anna Karenina, Greta Garbo suddenly retired, never to act again. One of the most famous women in the world for 15 years, she made only 28 films in her lifetime, and yet quite why she became such a phenomenon is a puzzle many are still trying to solve today.

Co-produced with Mylla Films and directed by Lorna Tucker, who was behind Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, the documentary aims to get to the heart of one of the former Hollywood icon’s story.

“There’s so much I want to know about this incredible woman. Why did she walk away? Did she find answers to the questions she was searching for? What did ‘being alone’ mean to her? Did she find something that resembled peace?,” said Tucker.“I want to show the moment she realised she had to walk away from it all, or rather, from Hollywood and the beast it was.”

Embankment is behind Emily, The Miracle Club and Purple Hearts for Netflix, and has produced more than 50 scripted features, such as The Father with Anthony Hopkins, Florian Zeller and Christopher Hampton, as well as docs including Born Wild.