Now in her nineties, legendary actress Kim Novak sits down to discuss her storied career in Hollywood and her most famous role in Hitchcock’s Vertigo in Alexandre O. Philippe’s intimate and illuminating documentary.
At 92, her star power is as grand and magnificent as ever. Novak also holds your attention as a uniquely thoughtful artist in her own right.
Kim Novak's Vertigo 2025
Kim Novack worked with many Hollywood’s greats – Preminger, Wilder and Aldrich to name a few – but she’ll be forever etched in the minds of most film lovers as that iconic, icy blonde in Hitchcock’s classic, Vertigo.
Now in her nineties, Kim Novak sits down with noted documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe (Chain Reactions, NZIFF 2025) for an intimate and candid discussion on her life in the movies, and the ongoing search for identity when your job is to constantly inhabit other people’s lives.
From a turbulent childhood to her big break on the silver screen, navigating the giddying heights of global superstardom to stepping away from the industry, Novak bares all in this fascinating conversation, supported by a wealth of film clips and rare glimpses of her life today as a painter.
Fans of Vertigo will be captivated by Novak’s commentary on the film and how the duality of her role refracted her own life away from the camera, but for anyone with an interest in classic Hollywood, Kim Novak’s Vertigo is a moving and bittersweet tale of the industry’s hideous treatment of women and what happens when the spotlight fades on an icon.
– Cho Jinseok