The spirit of the late Jean-Luc Godard lives on in It’s Not Me, French iconoclast Leos Carax’s latest unclassifiable whatsit—a film that, its title notwithstanding, is all about the director himself. Originally assembled for an exhibition in the Centre Pompidou, one that never ended up taking place, the film is ostensibly an answer to a simple question: “Where are you at, Leos Carax?” Running just 40 minutes long, Carax’s response is an anarchic, essayistic foray into the process of artistic creation itself, featuring the music of Ravel and David Bowie, the films of artists like Jean Vigo and FW Murnau, not to mention footage from his own iconic filmography (Holy Motors, Lovers on the Bridge, et al)
Endlessly inventive, rhythmically precise, and tonally unpredictable, It’s Not Me is as invigorating a cinematic experience as one is likely to encounter this year. No mere victory lap, it is a self-portrait of an artist confronting his place in movie history—a film that pays tribute to cinema’s past in order to make way for its future.
Denis Lavant, Katerina Yuspina, Nastya Golubeva Carax, Loreta Juodkaite, Anna-Isabel Siefken, Petr Anevskii
France
2024
In French with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Charles Gillibert, Leos Carax
Cinematography
Caroline Champetier
Editor
Leos Carax
Production Design
Florian Sanson
Leos Carax
Leos Carax is a French filmmaker renowned for his visually striking and often surreal cinema. A former critic at Cahiers du Cinéma, he transitioned to directing in the early 1980s and immediately established himself with Boy Meets Girl (1984) and Mauvais Sang (1986). Carax’s films frequently explore themes of love, identity, and existential angst. In 2021, his film Annette, starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, opened the Cannes Film Festival where he won the award for Best Director.
Filmography: Boy Meets Girl (1984); Mauvais Sang (1986); Lovers on the Bridge (1991); Holy Motors (2012); Annette (2021)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
A Magnificent Life
Animator Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville; The Illusionist) crafts a loving biopic of the revered French writer, playwright and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol (Jean de Florette; My Father's Glory)
Miroirs No. 3
Following a car crash that kills her boyfriend, piano student Laura is physically unhurt but emotionally distraught. A local woman takes her in, but she gradually realizes she's in the midst of an eerie, mysterious family situation.
Image: © Schramm Film A4 Kopie
Another Dawn
In this overtly political thriller, a union organizer hides out from corrupt government goons with an old college flame — but the net is closing in...
Nika & Madison
Two young Indigenous women become fugitives following an act of self-defence and are forced to flee into the wilderness. Inspired by Thelma and Louise, this compelling story of unbreakable friendship sheds light on systemic injustices.
The Kneeling Goddess
In which wealthy industrialist Arturo de Cordova purchases the titular nude sculpture of his lover (María Félix) as an anniversary gift for his innocent, adoring wife. Soon enough the wife is dead, though untangling just how and why is part of the fun.