The collaboration of Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parenno, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, follows French football star Zinédine Zidane in real time during a single match, which took place in 2005.

The film, assembled from shots taken with 17 cameras synchronized inside the stadium, portrays the footballer from multiple angles, close up and distant, always keeping the focus on Zidane's face, even when he is not at the center of the match.

The project was inspired by the painting style of Goya and Velázquez as well as the most immediate precursor of real-time cinematic portraits, Andy Warhol. 

The match is only one of the components of the film, which during the interval collects the events that happened on the same day on a global level: a flood in Serbia, the launch of a video game, the explosion of a car bomb in Iraq and the death by Sir John Mills.

The alternation of shots, the sound effects and some subtitles, in which Zidane confides some of his thoughts, enliven the film. 

The psychological complexity of the protagonist's portrait pays homage to Zidane as part of a story that is not actually told.

Douglas Gordon

Scottish artist Douglas Gordon has long used a variety of mediums, including installation, video and photography, to investigate memory and time. 

For his 24 Hour Psycho (1993), Gordon slowed down a 1960 Alfred Hitchcock film until it lasted an entire day; amplifying its mesmerizing tension.

In 2006, Gordon collaborated with artist Philippe Parreno on Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, a film that features French soccer star Zinedine Zidane's movements in real time during a single match to create a complex portrait study and mediated spectacle. Exhibited globally, Gordon's work has been the subject of considerable critical attention and has collected several international awards.

During the 65th Venice International Film Festival he was chosen as an international juror and in 2012 he was president of the Rome Film Festival. Gordon currently lives and works between Berlin and Glasgow.