00:00:00: still at Kallaviwari Film Festival with another documentary.

00:00:05: And it's again about the film, this time from director Alexander O'Philippe about his film Kim Novak's Vertigo.

00:00:12: actually I always want to say vertigo but its Kim Novaks Vertigo because It is all about her role in the film and also a lot of life for personality on how this essential Hitchcock film influenced her whole acting career.

00:00:26: So nice to meet you here at Kalleviwari.

00:00:28: Likewise

00:00:28: Thank You

00:00:29: You've traveled to many festivals, actually with this amazing documentary.

00:00:33: I think i have seen it the first time at Venice where it had its world premiere.

00:00:37: How has your festival journey been?

00:00:39: Oh you know... It's been amazing of course!

00:00:40: So..I feel very fortunate that every film I made pretty much is an incredible festival run and always just an incredible privilege To really be able share it with audiences And get to feel their love and exchange With people in different cultures and see how they react.

00:00:57: Your

00:00:57: documentaries are often centered around film.

00:01:00: We had chain reactions, then we had your documentary about the alien movie... So these are mostly considered genre films?

00:01:07: Would you say that have a special laugh with horror sci-fi?

00:01:11: Oh definitely!

00:01:11: I mean every since i was kid and watched a lot of horror movies And im very interested in the films That transcend medium cinema to become cultural events Films that stay with us Hold a marriage society that has something To Say About Who We Are Profoundly And films that really resonate.

00:01:28: And then of course, you know there are movies like Vertigo which are timeless movies that are puzzle movies.

00:01:33: There were movies trigger a certain kind of obsession from film lovers and, uh-and film directors as well.

00:01:40: And people who are interested... I mean it's really hard i think to be interested in art and not be fascinated by Vertigo.

00:01:46: I mean Vertigo is.. It's the film that the more you spend time with it ,the more it eludes you.

00:01:51: Yeah

00:01:51: Which just one.

00:01:52: those interesting aspect about Vertigo That it IS A Film About Obsession?

00:01:56: That also causes People To Become Obsessed With It!

00:02:00: And then I Think It Has Been Whatever That Maybe Worse the most influential film of all time in multiple polls, The Best Film.

00:02:08: It's always hard to say like there is a best film but there are lot recognition for where you go for sure.

00:02:13: so was it intimidating?

00:02:15: To tackle that film?

00:02:16: No no!

00:02:17: You can't be intimidated.

00:02:18: I am driven by love and passion For films.

00:02:22: i make films about.

00:02:23: To me theres nothing intimidating About this process.

00:02:25: Its really fun.

00:02:26: its just an endless process of discovery and recognizing That your never going..its not about uncovering the mysteries about solving anything.

00:02:34: There's nothing to solve when you're delving into the creative process, it's about getting to watch films rewatch films and experience films in a brand new way.

00:02:44: talk to someone who is as obsessed about Vertigo As I Am.

00:02:47: i'm gonna get a brand-new perspective on the film And that's the fun of it.

00:02:51: You can watch your film one hundred times and you still have new conversations About It.

00:02:55: then see things That will challenge The Way That You Think About The Film

00:03:01: or where to go?

00:03:03: Well, I mean it was very young.

00:03:04: The memory is very fuzzy but think iIwasveryyoung was in Switzerland that there's indication they were still being broadcast at some point of the seventies.

00:03:20: True memory, is it a partly false memory?

00:03:22: I don't know.

00:03:23: It's fuzzy but i do have this very strong memory of seeing that wallpaper at Ernie and the wallpaper in my living room My parents' living room And see Kim Nowak sort-of coming out.

00:03:33: So when think back to my earliest movie memory That what I was thinking about so...I must've been really young.

00:03:39: Did you always see Kim nowak as an essential figure of vertical because often its Hitchcock who comes first to mind Obviously

00:03:46: if your kid watching this a lot of Hitchcock.

00:03:50: when I was quite young.

00:03:59: being a Hitchcock fan and realizing that there was this one man who is making all those films.

00:04:04: And realising, I just wanted to know more about the particular individual so little did i knew as kid would eventually make multiple film's of him probably gonna be many more.

00:04:16: when you for first time get in contact with Kim Novak?

00:04:19: Who are still alive!

00:04:24: In fact exactly two years ago we had our phone conversation And then two, three weeks later I went to her house for the first time and we spent a whole afternoon evening together.

00:04:35: That's when the decision was made that uh... We were gonna move forward with making this film Which

00:04:40: is interesting because i could also imagine she would have been maybe tired of talking about it or saying like oh thats my whole life!

00:04:46: I don't need you do it again.

00:04:48: Well

00:04:48: She didn't want.. For decades she did not wanna do it.

00:04:51: It was our manager who told me You know?

00:04:54: She had been looking someone for decades To make a film.

00:04:57: Kim always said no, her manager Sue Cameron had watched some of my films and she contacted me.

00:05:03: And I think you're... You're the guy.

00:05:05: So that's why she said, you have to meet

00:05:09: Kim.".

00:05:09: She had sort of instinct and intuition if Kim would want to do it.

00:05:13: That was all intuition And she made a decision on her day.

00:05:17: There wasn't an immediate level of comfort between us.

00:05:21: It was great.

00:05:25: The

00:05:27: way I see the film really is more of a portrait of Kim through the lens not just the movie Vertigo, but it's really the spirals of her life.

00:05:36: Spirals are very interesting in a sense that they keep showing up into art as well and their lives is coming full circle.

00:05:43: for this particular film The focus was more on Kim with a lot of vertigo certainly But now I'm working on film specifically about the ending of Vertigo.

00:05:54: That's two-part film that I am currently working on right now And Kim also involved.

00:05:58: So are many other very famous filmmakers, and so that will be focused on Vertigo.

00:06:05: How much

00:06:05: of the film's structure was pre-shaped?

00:06:08: And how much did you just create organically with Kim together?

00:06:12: The

00:06:12: structure really emerged fairly quickly... ...and it is a four act structure.. ..and its a spiral structure which the whole idea was.

00:06:21: each of the four acts were going to focus in a specific aspect of her independence.

00:06:27: You know the whole film is about Kim fighting against the forces that tried to turn her into someone she was not.

00:06:36: and Remaining true do herself.

00:06:37: I mean, that's really fundamentally what you know from childhood all the way until Until the end of her career always Forces that try to mold her

00:06:47: a man shaping our woman-to-be the dead woman that she's not.

00:06:50: That's exactly right.

00:06:51: And so that's why the final act really focuses very specifically on dad and the gray suit in is central to that sort of sequence.

00:06:59: Each act comes back or ends with the idea of him leaving Hollywood, but each time we circle back to that there's a slightly different answer to why she left.

00:07:09: it opens the door to mysteries

00:07:11: again.".

00:07:26: would today be considered abusive in some terms?

00:07:31: you know, had.

00:07:44: I wasn't there so can only speak for Kim and she has a great

00:07:49: time.".

00:07:49: How much time did you spend together to make this film?

00:07:52: A lot of times we have three production periods in few days.

00:07:55: then of course voice memos and conversations were still constantly contact.

00:08:01: the friendship is ongoing quality.

00:08:03: each other send each other texts, have conversations.

00:08:06: You know sometimes still about vertigo.

00:08:08: when I discover something or find some thing she's always eager to hear what that is going be.

00:08:13: How

00:08:13: much material did you shoot?

00:08:15: Oh...I couldn't tell how many hours but we shot a lot.

00:08:19: We're still going through it right now and i had a lot of voice memos A lot of recordings.

00:08:23: Was

00:08:23: it hard to keep the film at certain limit?

00:08:26: If

00:08:27: pay attention where the film wants To Be The film will tell you how long It Wants.

00:08:34: But I'll go like, you know... ...I think this film is going to be about ninety minutes.

00:08:37: Or if it's gonna be an hour and twenty or three hours?

00:08:41: This one from the get-go was around seventy five, eighty minutes.

00:08:48: It's just a feeling.

00:08:49: You

00:08:49: already mentioned that this movie is mostly about Kim Nowak And her life in here career.

00:08:54: How hard would it have been for her to open up?

00:08:56: And were there things that you uncovered That we're totally unexpected For you?

00:09:01: The moment she had made made the decision to do it, she was all in.

00:09:06: There wasn't looking back and there were no taboo subjects.

00:09:08: I had been given free reign into her addicts.

00:09:11: so we have to establish a trust And when you do that then go.

00:09:15: We've made this decision.

00:09:17: not talking about her love life for husbands.

00:09:20: Sammy Davis Jr.

00:09:22: none of the gossip or stuff.

00:09:24: None of the tabloid

00:09:25: That's always the least interesting, that so

00:09:28: over-presented

00:09:29: in women's biographies.

00:09:30: Yeah for sure and yet that is what people would expect.

00:09:34: but I wanted to make a portrait of her on her own terms.

00:09:37: i want it here too.

00:09:38: have the opportunity.

00:09:39: show herself as she is because he was an incredible human.

00:09:42: Was there something you wish could've put in?

00:09:45: But at some reason time or whatever went out.

00:09:47: No not really To be honest.

00:09:49: She gave me freedom from making films in progress.

00:09:55: She wanted to see the finished film, got to make the film that I want it to make.

00:09:58: and of course when I sent her a link i thought well...I hope she likes it.

00:10:02: if she doesn't!

00:10:03: How did you rate?

00:10:03: Yeah..she didn't request a single change.

00:10:05: She was very moved by it.

00:10:06: You already told us that you have another film about Vertigo coming on.

00:10:10: but is there apart from that other Vertigo film-another film project or documentary or maybe something completely different?

00:10:16: There's many....I'm working on a bunch of double projects right now which is weird.

00:10:20: so The Fall Which Is This New Vertigo Film?

00:10:24: It's probably going to be three or four hours.

00:10:26: I'm working on a diptych about Nosferatu, which involves kind of scavenging all the king prince from around the world.

00:10:43: Mafia movies, but that one is a single project.

00:10:45: So and then there's other projects But yeah I'm literally working on three double features right now so it's kind of intense.

00:10:51: We're looking forward to all these.

00:10:52: thank you so much for this interview Alexandra

00:10:55: my pleasure Thank You.