Leos Carax | |
|---|---|
 Carax at the2012 Cannes Film Festival | |
| Born | Alex Christophe Dupont 1960 (age 64–65) Suresnes,Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
Alex Christophe Dupont[1][2] (born 1960),[3] best known asLeos Carax (French:[leɔskaʁaks]), is a Frenchfilm director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work wasBoy Meets Girl (1984), and his notable works includeLes Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991),Pola X (1999),Holy Motors (2012) andAnnette (2021). For the latter, he won theBest Director prize at the2021 Cannes Film Festival.
Carax was born Alex Christophe Dupont inSuresnes,Hauts-de-Seine, acommune in thesuburbs of Paris, France.[1] His mother is American and his father is French.[citation needed]
Carax's film career began with a series of short films, and as a film critic, before he releasedBoy Meets Girl (1984), which established his reputation for a mature visual style. It also saw the first grouping of Carax withDenis Lavant andcinematographerJean-Yves Escoffier. His next film wasMauvais Sang (literallyBad Blood but mostly known asThe Night is Young) in 1986, which alienated some of his audience, but continued to explore the complexities of love in the modern world, this time through a darker, more criminal viewpoint. The work was clearly an homage toFrench New Wave cinema, and his use of such actresses asJuliette Binoche was a tribute to his influences, especiallyJean-Luc Godard. The film was entered into the37th Berlin International Film Festival.[4]
Five years later, Carax returned to directing withLes Amants du Pont-Neuf, an expensive undertaking as Parisian authorities granted him only 10 days to film onPont Neuf. His initial reaction to the problems of filming on a public bridge had been to construct a model of the bridge in the community ofLansargues, inSouthern France. But on the first day of filming Lavant severely injured his thumb, which pushed the movie back by a month. Subsequent financial difficulties further pushed filming over a much longer period than intended. The movie was released to critical acclaim and opened the door for Carax to enter more experimental waters with his fourth feature,Pola X (1999), an adaptation ofHerman Melville'sPierre: or, The Ambiguities.
Carax's 2012 filmHoly Motors also stars Lavant.[5] The film competed for thePalme d'Or at the2012 Cannes Film Festival.[6][7]
In 2017, Carax performed vocals andaccordion on the track "When You're a French Director" onSparks's albumHippopotamus.[citation needed]
In 2021, Carax directedAnnette, a music-filled drama feature film written bySparks and starringAdam Driver andMarion Cotillard, for which he won theCannes Film Festival Award for Best Director at the2021 Cannes Film Festival.[8]
In 2024, Carax starred in the short filmAn Urban Allegory,[9] directed byAlice Rohrwacher andJR, which premiered out of competition at the81st Venice International Film Festival.[10]
| Year | English Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Boy Meets Girl | Yes | Yes |
| 1986 | Mauvais Sang | Yes | Yes |
| 1991 | Les Amants du Pont-Neuf | Yes | Yes |
| 1999 | Pola X | Yes | Yes |
| 2012 | Holy Motors | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | Annette | Yes | No |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Strangulation Blues[11] | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 1997 | Sans Titre | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2006 | My Last Minute | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2008 | Merde | Yes | Yes | No | Segment ofTokyo! |
| 2010 | Naked Eyes | Yes | Yes | No | Segment of42 One Dream Rush[12] |
| 2014 | Gradiva | Yes | No | No | |
| 2024 | It's Not Me[13] | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Mauvais Sang | Le voyeur du quartier | Uncredited |
| 1987 | King Lear | Edgar | |
| 1997 | The House | ||
| 2004 | Process | Un médecin | |
| 2006 | 977 | Technic | |
| 2007 | Mister Lonely | Renard | |
| 2008 | Je ne suis pas morte | Moitié d'archange | |
| 2012 | Holy Motors | Le Dormeur and Voix Limousine | Credited as "LC" |
| 2024 | It's Not Me | LC | |
| An Urban Allegory | The Director |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Quelqu'un m'a dit" | Carla Bruni |
| 2003 | "Tout le monde" | |
| 2005 | "Crystal"(alternative version) | New Order |
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