The Reykjavík International Film Festival is proud to announce actress Kim Novak as one of the honorary guests of RIFF 2025. To mark this occasion, a carefully curated selection of her films will be screened, followed by conversations with the legendary actress herself. This is a truly unique opportunity to meet a star who chose to leave Hollywood on her own terms – and now returns to the spotlight with a brand-new film.
Her new film, the documentary Kim Novak’s Vertigowill be the opening film of RIFF 2025. It had its world premiere earlier this month at the Venice Film Festival. Novak will attend RIFF to present the film and receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Director Alexandre O. Philippe (an honorary guest at RIFF 2022) will also be present at the Reykjavík screening.
A Living Legend
Kim Novak is one of the true icons of Hollywood’s golden age, an actress whose presence has left an indelible mark on cinematic history. Born in Chicago in 1933, she began her career in the early 1950s and quickly rose to fame—not only as a symbol of beauty and enigmatic glamour, but as an artist capable of expressing fragility and humanity beneath Hollywood’s dazzling surface.
Kim Novak is one of the true icons of Hollywood’s golden age, an actress whose presence has left an indelible mark on cinematic history. Born in Chicago in 1933, she began her career in the early 1950s and quickly rose to fame—not only as a symbol of beauty and enigmatic glamour, but as an artist capable of expressing fragility and humanity beneath Hollywood’s dazzling surface.
Her career includes many memorable roles, but she is most often associated with Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece Vertigo (1958), where she created one of the most complex and influential female characters in cinema. Novak also worked with giants such as Otto Preminger, Billy Wilder and Sidney Lumet, proving her remarkable range and strength as an actress.
Novak is more than just a movie star – she represents a time when cinema was both high art and a playground for imagination. With films like Hitchcock’s Vertigo and Preminger’s The Man With the Golden Arm (1955), she has inspired generations of viewers and reminded us of the human emotions behind the legend. At RIFF, audiences will have the rare chance to see Vertigo on the big screen at Háskólabíó – an event likely to sell out quickly.
Opening Film: Kim Novak’s Vertigo
Óhætt er að segja að opnunarmynd RIFF árið 2025 sé með sögulegasta móti en það er heimildamyndin Kim Novak’s Vertigo sem heimsfrumsýnd var fyrir rétt tæpum mánuði á Kvikmyndahátíðinni í Feneyjum! Það sem meira er, stjarna myndarinnar– Kim Novak, Hollywood goðsögnin sjálf–verður viðstödd sýninguna í Háskólabíói sem ljær viðburðinum óneitanlega meiri ljóma.
Novak’s career skyrocketed in the 1950s, starring alongside legends like James Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, William Holden, and twice with Frank Sinatra. But as time went on, she grew weary of being typecast as the glamorous blonde goddess and yearned for more varied roles. Gradually she withdrew from Hollywood, and by the early 1970s she had largely stopped acting, moving with her husband, veterinarian Robert Malloy, to Oregon to focus on painting and country life.
It is always big news when a major star leaves Hollywood on their own terms – a place so many fight to enter, and where most careers fade by force, not choice.
Kim Novak turned the tables, retreating into nature far from the glitz. Now, she returns to the screen entirely on her own terms, bringing with her the opening film of RIFF 2025, straight from Venice.
A Sparkling Evening: Pal Joey (1957) with Kim Novak
RIFF offers guests a very special gala screening this year: Pal Joey (1957), in which Kim Novak stars alongside Frank Sinatra and Rita Hayworth. Even better – Novak herself will attend the screening! Guests will be greeted with sparkling wine to toast the occasion before settling in to watch this timeless musical classic.
In the film, Sinatra plays nightclub singer Joey Evans, who faces a choice between marrying wealthy widow Vera (Hayworth) to finance his dream club or following his heart with dancer Linda (Novak). Filled with famous songs, including Sinatra’s hit “The Lady is a Tramp”, the film remains a dazzling showcase of Hollywood’s golden era.
For Reykjavík audiences, this is a rare chance to watch the film in the company of one of its stars—a living connection to Sinatra and Hayworth themselves.
In the film, Sinatra plays nightclub singer Joey Evans, who faces a choice between marrying wealthy widow Vera (Hayworth) to finance his dream club or following his heart with dancer Linda (Novak). Filled with famous songs, including Sinatra’s hit “The Lady is a Tramp”, the film remains a dazzling showcase of Hollywood’s golden era.
For Reykjavík audiences, this is a rare chance to watch the film in the company of one of its stars—a living connection to Sinatra and Hayworth themselves.
Vertigo on the Big Screen
When Kim Novak’s name is mentioned, the first thought for most cinephiles is Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958). Her performance in this film has become legendary and is still considered one of the most remarkable portrayals in cinema history. At RIFF 2025, audiences will have the rare chance to see Vertigo on the big screen at Háskólabíó, in a special retrospective screening. Novak’s dual role as Madeleine and Judy is one of the most complex character studies in film history, embodying both vulnerability and mystery, and has influenced countless filmmakers and actors ever since. Hitchcock’s Vertigo consistently ranks at the very top of international film polls – including being named the greatest film of all time in the 2012 Sight & Sound poll – and Novak’s performance is at the very heart of its power. With Novak present as an honorary guest of RIFF, this screening will not only be a cinematic event but a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with film history itself.