The story of legendary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Berge's life together is to be told on screen in a new film produced by Films Du Lendemain, the outfit co-founded by billionaire Francois Pinault, the owner of Christie's.

Love, Art and Ethics, as the feature documentary is tentatively called, has been picked up for international sales by Paris-based Films Distribution.

Shooting on the project, directed by Pierre Thoretton, will begin shortly. The producers are Films Du Lendemain and Films De Pierre. Films Distribution is introducing the project to buyers during the EFM and expects to have footage ready for Cannes.

This is the third fashion-related film that Films Distribution has handled recently. The company enjoyed considerable success with Rodolphe Marconi's Lagerfeld Confidential and Anne Fontaine's Coco Before Chanel.

'We've picked it up because it has drama and it has emotions,' commented Nicolas Brigaud-Robert of Films Distribution. 'We go after stories. There is a really story here. First of all, these two men were gay. They were the first prominent business people not to shy away from that. Their love story goes through all the later part of the Twentieth Century. Their love for art was their common ground.'

Later this month, Christie's will be hosting a three day auction of the art collection owned by Saint Laurent, who died last summer at the age of 71. The collection was put together by Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge. It comprises over 700 pieces and is valued at $400 million.