Watch Trailer For ‘Nasty,’ Ilie Nastase Doc Premiering At Cannes

EXCLUSIVE: Days before the start of the French Open in Paris, there’s going to be some tennis action at the Cannes Film Festival – with one of the greatest players ever.

Thursday will mark the world premiere of Nasty, a documentary about the brilliant Romanian pro Ilie Nastase – who at the height of his career was one of the most gifted, entertaining, and polarizing figures in sport.

Tudor Giurgiu, Cristian Pascariu and Tudor D. Popescu directed the film, which debuts in the Special Screenings section of Cannes. Goodfellas is handling international sales as part of its new sports-focused sales label, Oui Michel. We have your first look at the film in the trailer above.

“1972. Ilie Nastase wins his first US Open, while reaching both the Wimbledon and Davis Cup finals, and enters tennis history,” notes a synopsis of the documentary. “Nasty explores his highs and lows, the controversies that surrounded the 1973 world number one ranked player, and the enduring impact he has had on the world of tennis. Lovable, charming and generous, yet temperamental, arrogant and obscene – Nastase disrupted the sport’s antiquated etiquette with a great sense of showmanship on the court and became its first rebel rock star.”

The press gave him the sobriquet Nasty, not only a play on his surname but a nod to on-court behavior that often featured profanity, run-ins with umpires and spirited interactions with fans. His outbursts were more impish than churlish and Nastase never failed to entertain crowds with his tremendous skill and showmanship.

“I have so much energy, I have to spend it,” Nastase says in an archive interview seen in the trailer. “I’ll always be like that.” A journalist asks him, “Are you going to behave better in the future?” He cracks a smile as he responds, “You think I’m bad?”

Among the legends of the game appearing in the documentary are many who faced Nastase across a net: John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, Stan Smith, Ion Tiriac, and Yannick Noah as well as players of a later era including Boris Becker and Rafael Nadal. Also sharing their insights for the film are Billie Jean King, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, and Nadia Comăneci, the Olympic champion gymnast from Romania.

“Nastase will go down as one of the first superstars of professional tennis. He brought both humanity and comedy to sport and helped it to grow,” co-director Tudor Giurgiu tells Deadline. “A brilliant player with an amazing technique, a true entertainer, an unfulfilled genius but still someone who wrote his own chapter in the history of the game. If he had been able to control his emotions better, he might have won many more prestigious prizes. But I’m sure he’ll always be remembered as one of the most colorful guys on the court. After him, tennis was never the same.”

Roland Garros begins this Sunday, with Novak Djokovic the top seed on the men’s side and Iga Swiatek the top-seeded woman. But before that tournament kicks off, Nasty will hold center court in Cannes.

“It’s great that we have the chance to premiere in Cannes as Nastase is so loved and admired in France,” Giurgiu says. “He won Roland Garros in 1973, and he is still remembered by many. I’d have wanted to have many more top players joining us for the premiere, but I know it’s too close to the start of the Open, so they were not able to come. But I hope the film will be sold all over the world and will be seen – especially by youngsters who don’t know much about Nasty.”

Nasty is produced by Libra Films in co-production with HBO and The Romanian Television. It is presented by Ion Țiriac Foundation, Banca Transilvania, Dedeman, Superbet, with the support of Mastercard. Producers are Cosmin Hodor and Tudor Giurgiu; the film is written by Cristian Pascariu and Tudor Giurgiu. Director of photography is Alex Brendea; editing by Tudor D Popescu; music composed by Marius Leftărache, with sound design by Dumitru Alexandru.

Watch the Nasty trailer above.