| Director: | Alexandre O. Philippe |
|---|---|
| Production: | Gull House Films (Terri Piñon, Alexandre O. Philippe), Medianoche Productions (Terri Piñon) |
| Running Time: | 77’ |
| Language: | English |
| Country: | USA |
| Screenplay: | Alexandre O. Philippe |
| Cinematographer: | Robert Muratore, Jeff Pointer |
| Editor: | David Lawrence |
| Music: | Jon Hegel |
| Sound: | Phillip Lloyd Hegel |
| As themselves: | Kim Novak, Alexandre O. Philippe |
|---|
Kim Novak’s Vertigo is an intimate portrait of a fiercely independent Hollywood star who left it all behind to live life on her own terms, revealing a haunting, resilient journey of art, identity, and authenticity in the shadow of one of cinema’s most iconic roles.
I’ve been obsessed with Vertigo — my all-time favourite film — for as long as I can remember. As a child in Switzerland, I watched movies surrounded by damask wallpaper nearly identical to the one at Ernie’s, where Judy (as Madeleine) makes her entrance. My earliest memory of cinema is Kim Novak walking toward me in her black and green satin dress. That image — wallpaper on wallpaper — etched itself into my mind and made me hopelessly fall in love with movies. Years later, thanks to Kim Novak’s long-time friend and manager Sue Cameron, I met Kim in person, and that early obsession took on new meaning. Two weeks later, we began filming.
This film is about a life coming full circle — a story quietly orbiting Vertigo for decades. Far from a conventional documentary (and quite different from my previous portraits of Friedkin and Shatner), Kim Novak’s Vertigo is a deeply personal piece — a cinematic séance in which Hitchcock’s spirit lingers. Adopting a spiral structure, it unfolds like a fern leaf — between past and present, Judy and Madeleine, Kim and “Kim Novak”. Working with Kim meant stepping into a space of radical honesty. Her voice — unfiltered, wise, funny, defiant — guides us through the attic of her life: old costumes, fire-scarred scripts, early traumas, and enduring Hollywood ghosts. What I discovered, and what I hope audiences will realise, is that Kim is so much more than a movie star. She is a painter, a poet, a survivor — a profoundly misunderstood re-actor, decades ahead of her time. In many ways, she was always Judy: reshaped, renamed, yearning to be seen for who she truly is. My love for Hitchcock led me here, but it was Kim who made the journey transformative. She taught me what it means — and what it costs — to stay true to yourself, to reclaim your own story when the world insists on telling it for you.
PRODUCTION 1:
Gull House Films - Terri Piñon, Alexandre O. Philippe
3339 Virginia Street #PH28
33133 Coconut Grove, United States of America
Tel: +1 2015753772
E-mail: terripinon@gmail.com
Web: http://www.medianocheproductions.net
Social Media: @kimnovaksvertigofilm - Instagram
PRODUCTION 2:
Medianoche Productions - Terri Piñon
900 W Washington Street #396
79843 Marfa, United States of America
Tel: +1 2015753772
E-mail: terri@medianocheproductions.net
Web: http://www.medianocheproductions.net
WORLD SALES:
Dogwoof - Cleo Veger
Ground Floor, Overseas House, 19-23 Ironmonger Row
EC1V 3QN London, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 2072536244
E-mail: cleo@dogwoof.com
Web: http://www.dogwoof.com
Social Media: @dogwoof - Instagram, dogwoof - Facebook
INTERNATIONAL AND ITALIAN PRESS OFFICE:
Claudia Tomassini, Lorenzo Ormando - claudiatomassini + associates
E-mail: festivals@claudiatomassini.com
US PRESS OFFICE:
Lauren Schwartz, Cori Futrovsky - Cinetic Marketing
26 Broadway, 14th floor
10004 New York, NY, United States of America
E-mail: lauren@cineticmedia.com, cori@cineticmedia.com
