“I’m Curious Johnny”, interview with the director Julien Temple and Johnny Pigozzi

At the 20th edition of the Rome Film Fest, FRED Film Radio met director Julien Temple and photographer and collector Johnny Pigozzi to talk about their latest collaboration, “I’m Curious Johnny”, a vibrant and unconventional documentary presented as a special screening at the festival.

The film dives into the extraordinary life of Johnny Pigozzi, a man who has been called many things — photographer, art collector, entrepreneur, philanthropist — but who, as the film suggests, might best be described as a collector of people and moments. With appearances by Mick Jagger, Michael Douglas, Diane von Furstenberg, and Graydon Carter, the documentary captures a lifetime of encounters with icons, while also offering an intimate glimpse into Pigozzi’s self-made mythology.

“It started during COVID”

When asked how the project began, Johnny Pigozzi explained: “It started during COVID. I decided to do some interviews with friends of mine. And I spoke to about 50 people. I said, you can ask me whatever question you want. Obviously, I could edit them… So I had all these interviews, but I didn’t really know what to do with them.”

After showing the material to producer Jeremy Thomas, the idea evolved into something larger.

“We made it a much bigger, more fun, and more diverse and very visual, and very different kind of film than a regular interview film,” Pigozzi said. “The film we made… is not boring.”

Zoom as a new language

Director Julien Temple, known for his groundbreaking work in music and documentary cinema, embraced the challenge of turning digital limitations into creative strength. “The interviews were on Zoom, which is different from a formal interview,” Temple noted. “It’s interesting because you see a version of the real person that’s different from the formal setup… despite the quality being shit, basically.”

Temple emphasized the aesthetic richness that comes from working across formats — VHS, DigiBeta, Mini-DV, and 70mm: “There’s incredible information in the way something is recorded. That’s also at the heart of this film. It was fun using Zoom as a subject as well as a means of viewing.”

An archive of a life

The film draws heavily from Johnny Pigozzi’s personal archives, amassed over more than 50 years of photography. “I want my archives to be as public as possible,” he explained. “I think they’ll be even more interesting in a hundred years’ time… I’m not a paparazzi who’s behind the tree with a long zoom lens. I’m usually 20 or 30 centimeters away, so the pictures are much more intimate.”

Temple compared Pigozzi’s visual legacy to that of the early French photographer La Tigue: “A hundred years later, La Tigue’s photographs are the most interesting record of that time and that society. In a similar way, Johnny’s images capture moments where people are at home with being photographed.”

Rockstars, icons, and the unstaged life

When asked if Johnny Pigozzi could be considered a rockstar himself, Julien Temple replied playfully, “Maybe he’ll become one. He’s a great percussionist, by the way.”

To which Pigozzi laughed: “One day I was at a party with Mick Jagger, and he introduced me saying, ‘This is Johnny Pigozzi, who’s been to more Rolling Stones concerts than myself.’ But I’ve fallen asleep at Led Zeppelin concerts, ACDC concerts… I’d rather take pictures and go home than jump around.”

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