Guillermo del Toro, Kim Novak and Ari Aster are among several star “witnesses” already scheduled to appear in director Alexandre O. Philippe’s two-part documentary feature The Fall, which is scheduled to be released at Frontière on July 22 as part of Fantasia’s international co-production market pitch event.
The two-part film The Fall will be produced by Medianoche Productions, the company behind Filip’s documentary The Vertigo of Kim Novak, which will premiere in Venice in 2025. Medianoche producer Terry Pignon and writer/director Philippe will reunite with Novak Films’ production partner, France’s Tell Me Films. The partners are also working with France’s Thunderbug Productions for the new title.
With pre-sales also locked to France’s Cine+, Pignon and Philippe descended on Frontière in search of an international sales agent and financing partner for the project, which is about a year away from production. The project is not only in production, but gaining momentum towards a plot point that will be a milestone in film history.
“In preparation for Vertigo’s 70th anniversary in 2028, which will be the cinephile event of the year, we are building The Fall as a two-part event, with Parts I and II scheduled to premiere separately,” Pignon said. “With the cast we have secured, pre-sales in France, a co-production structure and early interest from some of the most prestigious festivals, we are poised for a great development to ride on the Vertigo anniversary buzz throughout 2028.”
The working title, “The Fall,” refers to the iconic, fascinating, and ambiguous finale of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo.” When Judy plummets to her death from the belfry, the viewer is never shown exactly how it happened, and is instead shown 57 frames of Scottie’s face as she watches on.
The film is structured as a film noir that explores autumn and the emotions and ideas it evokes. Director Philippe, whose 2024 Venice Classic Lion winner “Chain Reaction” depicts the impact of Tobe Hooper’s “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” 50 years after its release, said he wanted to “stay alive” rather than solve the mysteries of autumn.
Each subject in the interview offers a “different version of the truth,” Philippe said, calling the Vertigo finale Hitchcock’s “greatest mystery.” “Each version reveals something intimate about the person telling it. This is the culmination of everything I’ve been pursuing for 20 years. It’s the film I was born to make.”
Fantasia’s four-day Frontière Market will be held in Montreal from July 22nd to 25th.
