French filmmaker Leos Carax (b. 1960) embarked on a unique journey with his latest film, “C’est pas moi” (a.k.a. “It’s Not Me”). The film was made as an assignment for the Centre Pompidou, a.k.a. the Centre national d’art et de culture Georges Pompidou, located in Paris, and was originally scheduled as a part of an exhibition that is yet to take place. The project was born from a question raised by the museum, ‘Where are you at, Leos Carax?’

Mr. Carax is renowned for his distinctive visual style and unconventional storytelling. His early work drew comparisons to the French New Wave, particularly the films of enfant terrible Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022), though Carax’s style quickly distinguished itself as uniquely his own.

“C’est pas moi” is a medium-length autobiographical collage and a poetic and heavily condensed 40-minute self-portrait that pays tribute to Jean-Luc Godard, among others, and covers almost everything. There are references to his own films and private life, and influences from silent movies to Hollywood’s Golden Era, from the music of Nina Simone and Beethoven to Isadore Greenbaum, the then 26-year old plumber’s helper from Brooklyn who interrupted a pro-nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in February 1939.

I don’t know if “C’est pas moi” is the answer that Centre Pompidou was expecting, but those who are familiar with Mr. Carax’s body of work, which includes several music videos, shorts, and seven feature films such as “Mauvais sang” (1986) starring Juliette Binoche, and the musical “Annette” (2021) with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard—which earned Mr. Carax a Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival—will find themselves on familiar territory.

Yesterday, Mr. Carax was one of the guests at the seventh edition of the Brussels International Film Festival, a.k.a. BRIFF; after a screening of “C’est pas moi,” he talked about why and how the film came about during a 30-minute Q&A session—including taking questions from the audience—at the Cinéma Galleries in Brussels.

“C’est pas moi” had its world premiere last month at the Cannes Film Festival, and the buzz around it suggests that it will likely become a festival favorite. Theatrical distribution—if at all—will be restricted to the arthouse circuit, adding to the anticipation and excitement surrounding this film which targets a strictly cinephile audience.

“C’est pas moi” (a.k.a. “It’s Not Me,” trailer)

FILMS

BOY MEETS GIRL (1984) DIR – SCR Leos Carax PROD Patricia Moraz CAM Jean-Yves Escoffier ED Nelly Meunier, Francine Sandberg CAST Denis Lavant, Mireille Perrier, Carroll Brooks, Maïté Nahyr, Elie Poicard, Christian Cloarec, Lorraine Berger, Marc Desclozeaux

MAUVAIS SANG, a.k.a. BAD BLOOD (1986) DIR – SCR Leos Carax PROD Alain Dahan CAM Jean-Yves Escoffier ED Nelly Quettier CAST Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Michel Piccoli, Hans Meyer, Julie Delpy, Carroll Brooks, Mireille Perrier, Serge Regianni, Jérôme Zucca, Paul Handford, Leos Carax [uncredited]

KING LEAR (1987) DIR – ED Jean-Luc Godard PROD Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus SCR Jean-Luc Godard, Richard Debuisne, Norman Mailer, Peter Sellars (play “King Lear” by William Shakespeare) CAM Sophie Maintigneux CAST Woody Allen, Freddy Buache, Leos Carax (Edgar [uncredited]), Julie Delpy, Jean-Luc Godard, Norman Mailer, Burgess Meredith, Molly Ringwald, Peter Sellars

LES AMANTS DU PONT-NEUF, a.k.a. THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE (1991) DIR Leos Carax PROD Christian Fechner CAM Jean-Yves Escoffier ED Nelly Quettier CAST Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Klaus-Michael Grüber, Marion Stalens, Chrichan Larsson, Paulette Berthonnier, Roger Berthonnier, Edith Scob, Georges Aperghis

A CASA, a.k.a. THE HOUSE (1997) DIR Sharunas Bartas PROD Paulo Branco SCR Sharunas Bartas, Yekaterina Golubeva CAM Sharunas Bartas, Rimvydas Leipus ED Mingaile Murmulaitiene CAST Francisco Nascimento, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Aex Descas, Leos Carax, Oksana Chernych, Viktorija Nareiko, Eugenija Sulgaite, Leonardas Zelcius

POLA X (1999) DIR Leos Carax PROD Bruno Pésery SCR Leos Carax, Jean-Pol Fargeau, Lauren Sedofsky (novel “Pierre: or, The Ambiguities” [1852] by Herman Melville) CAM Eric Gautier ED Nelly Quettier MUS Scott Walker CAST Guillaume Depardieu, Katerina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve, Delphine Chuillot, Laurent Lucas, Patachou, petruta Catana, Mihaella Silaghi

PROCESS (2004) DIR – SCR C.S. Leigh PROD Mark Westaway CAM Giorgos Arvanitis ED Luc Barnier MUS John Cale CAST Béatrice Dalle, Guillaume Depardieu, Julia Faure, Daniel Duval, Sébastien Viala, Françoise Klein, Erik Arnaud, Leos Carax (Doctor), Hannah Westaway

977 (2006) DIR Nikolay Khomeriki PROD Arsen Gotlib SCR Nikolay Khomeriki, Yuni Davydov, Aleksandr Rodionov CAM Alisher Khamidkhodzhaev ED Igor Kireev, Kirill Kozlov MUS Fyodor Lavrov CAST Fyodor Lavrov, Klavdiya Korshunova, Yekaterina Golubeva, Pavel Lyubimtsev, Alisa Khazanova, Audrey Kazakov, Leos Carax (Technic)

TOKYO! (2007) DIR Leos Carax (segment “Merde”), Bong Joon Ho, Michel Gondry PROD Michiko Yoshitake, Anne Pernod-Sawada SCR Leos Carax (segment “Merde”), Bong Joon Ho, Gabrielle Bell, Michel Gondry CAM Caroline Champetier, Jun Fukumoto, Masami Inomoto ED Nelly Quettier MUS Byung-woo Lee, Étienne Charry CAST (only segment “Merde”) Denis Lavant, Jean-François Balmer, Renji Ishibashi, Toshiyuki Kitami, Kyûsaku Shimada

MISTER LONELY (2007) DIR Harmony Korine PROD Harmony Korine, Nadja Romain SCR Harmony Korine, Avi Korine CAM Marcel Zyskind ED Paul Zucker, Valdis Oskarsdóttir MUS Jason Spaceman, The Sun City Girls CAST Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Denis Lavant, James Fox, Werner Herzog, Leos Carax (Renard), Richard Strange, Jason Pennycooke

JE NE SUIS PAS MORTE, a.k.a. I DID NOT DIE (2008) DIR – PROD – SCR Jean-François Fitoussi CAM Sébastien Buchmann ED Jean-François Fitoussi, Catherine Krassovsky MUS  CAST Frédéric Bonpart, Hélène Boons, Leos Carax, Adeline D’Hermy, Alix Derouin, Laurent Roth, Jean-Marie Straub

HOLY MOTORS (2012) DIR – SCR Leos Carax PROD Albert Prévost, Maurice Tinchant, Martine Marignac CAM Caroline Champetier, Yves Cape ED Nelly Quettier CAST Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue, Elise Lhomeau, Jeanne Disson, Michel Piccoli, Leos Carax, Nastya Golubeva Carax,

ANNETTE (2021) DIR Leos Carax PROD Adam Driver, Charles Gillibert, Paul-Dominique Win Vacharasinthu SCR (original story by Ron Mael, Russell Mael) CAM Caroline Champetier ED Nelly Quettier MUS Sparks [Ron Mael, Russell Mael] CAST Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, Simon Helberg, Devyn McDowell, Angèle, Natalia lafourcade, Sinay Bavurhe, Franziska Grohmann, Wim Opbrouck, Ron Mael, Russell Mael, Ella Leyers, Nastya Golubeva Carax