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 Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
How to Divorce During the War
Screenwriter Vytus is left reeling when on successive days his wife demands a divorce and Russia invades Ukraine. Blazevicius' masterful feature emerges as an engrossing satire about virtue signaling, nationalism, good intentions, and survival modes.
Edie Arnold is a Loser + Q&A
Loaded with breakneck gags in the spirit of Scott Pilgrim, but with a distinctly female-centered point of view, Megan Rico and Kade Atwood's hilarious teen comedy hits VIFF Centre on its 16 city whistlestop North American tour. Filmmaker Q&A.
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.