Leos Carax

Alex Christophe Dupont (born 22 November 1960), best known as Leos Carax , 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, and his notable works include Les Amants du Pont-Neuf (1991), Pola X (1999), Holy Motors (2012) and Annette (2021). For the latter, he won the Best Director prize at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Early life Carax was born Alex Christophe Dupont in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, a commune in the suburbs of Paris, France.

Career 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.

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 Pierre: or, The Ambiguities.

Carax's 2012 film Holy Motors also stars Lavant. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

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.

In 2024, Carax starred in the short film An Urban Allegory, directed by Alice Rohrwacher and JR, which premiered out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.

Filmography

Feature film Year English title Director Writer 1984 Boy Meets Girl 1986 Mauvais Sang 1991 Les Amants du Pont-Neuf 1999 Pola X 2012 Holy Motors 2021 Annette 2027 Lily May B

Short film Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes 1980 Strangulation Blues 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

Acting roles Year Title Role Notes 1986 Mauvais Sang Le voyeur du quartierUncredited 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 YearTitleArtist 2002 "Quelqu'un m'a dit"Carla Bruni 2003 "Tout le monde" 2005 "Crystal" (alternative version) New Order