| Leos Carax | |
| Birth Name: | Alex Christophe Dupont |
| Birth Date: | 1960 11, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, France |
| Years Active: | 1984–present |
Alex Christophe Dupont[1] [2] (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax (pronounced as /fr/), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was Boy Meets Girl (1984), and his notable works include Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991), Pola X (1999), Holy Motors (2012) and Annette (2021). For the last, he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. His professional name is an anagram of his real name, 'Alex', and 'Oscar'.
Carax was born Alex Christophe Dupont in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, a commune in the suburbs of Paris, France.[1] His mother is American and his father is French.
Carax's film career began with a series of short films, and as a film critic, before he released Boy Meets Girl (1984), which established his reputation for a mature visual style. It also saw the first grouping of Carax with Denis Lavant and cinematographer Jean-Yves Escoffier. His next film was Mauvais Sang (literally Bad Blood but mostly known as The 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 to French New Wave cinema, and his use of such actresses as Juliette Binoche was a tribute to his influences, especially Jean-Luc Godard. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]
Five years later, Carax returned to directing with Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, an expensive undertaking as Parisian authorities granted him only 10 days to film on Pont 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 of Lansargues, in Southern 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 of Herman Melville's .
Carax's 2012 film Holy Motors also stars Lavant.[4] The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[5] [6]
In 2017, Carax performed vocals and accordion on the track "When You're a French Director" on Sparks's album Hippopotamus.
In 2021, Carax directed Annette, a music-filled drama feature film written by Sparks and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Director at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.[7]
In 2024, Carax will star in the short film An Urban Allegory,[8] co-directed by Alice Rohrwacher and JR, which will make its world premiere out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.[9]
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Strangulation Blues[10] | |||||
| 1997 | Sans Titre | |||||
| 2006 | My Last Minute | |||||
| 2008 | Merde | Segment of Tokyo! | ||||
| 2010 | Naked Eyes | Segment of 42 One Dream Rush | ||||
| 2014 | Gradiva | |||||
| 2024 | It's Not Me[11] |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Boy Meets Girl | ||
| 1986 | Mauvais Sang | ||
| 1991 | Les Amants du Pont-Neuf | ||
| 1999 | Pola X | ||
| 2012 | Holy Motors | ||
| 2021 | Annette | ||
Acting roles
| 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 |
Music video
| Year | Title | Artist | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | "Quelqu'un m'a dit" | Carla Bruni | |
| 2003 | "Tout le monde" | ||
| 2005 | "Crystal" (alternative version) | New Order |