- OFFICIAL SELECTION: Toronto International Film Festival - Based on the New York Times best-selling biography, Widow Clicquot is a visually impressive tale of resilience that leaves a pleasing aftertaste on the palette. The film tells the true story of the “Grande Dame of Champagne,” Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (Haley Bennett, Cyrano) who, at the age of 20, became Madame Clicquot after marrying the scion of a winemaking family. Though their marriage was arranged, a timeless love blossomed between the Grande Dame and her unconventional, erratic husband, François (Tom Sturridge, The Boat That Rocked). After her husband’s untimely death, Barbe-Nicole flouts convention by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionizes the champagne industry to become one of the world’s first great entrepreneurs. Widow Clicquot is a toast to the perseverance of unshakeable women.