If Georges Méliès had a modern-day heir, it would be Michel Gondry. A brilliant, eccentric jack-of-all-trades, Gondry’s unique DIY talent drew the creative elite of global pop music—Björk, The Rolling Stones, Daft Punk, The White Stripes, Beck, Paul McCartney — who trusted his madcap vision to redefine the music video genre forever. He then blazed his own trail in Hollywood, all while maintaining his signature offbeat style and artistic integrity, earning him an Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Featuring new interviews with Kylie Minogue, Beck, and Jack White among others, and told through the personal archives of his friend and long-time collaborator Francois Nemata, MICHEL GONDRY: DO IT YOURSELF is a rare and personal window into the mind and career of a singular artist who celebrates wonder and imagination on his own terms.
DO IT YOURSELF acts as a stunning tribute to the magic of cinema, spanning Gondry’s early days as a drummer and videographer, his whimsical and groundbreaking approach to visual storytelling and craftsmanship (for example, his contribution to the “bullet time” effect made famous by The Matrix), his profound roots in childhood dreams, his good-natured rivalry and friendship with Spike Jonze, and his paradoxical Hollywood career. At its core, Gondry’s DIY artistry offers a deeply humanist ambition and stands as a political act.
With a new studio musical film on the way starring Pharrell Williams, Janelle Monáe, Missy Elliott and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, the world will once again revel in the singular creative vision of a true maverick.
VENICE FILM FESTIVAL. WORLD PREMIERE.
HOT DOCS FILM FESTIVAL. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE.
RECENT PRESS