Leos Carax
Alex Christophe Dupont, 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 and Holy Motors. His professional name is an anagram of his real name, 'Alex', and 'Oscar'.
Early life
Leos Carax was born Alex Christophe Dupont in Suresnes, Hauts-de-Seine, a commune in the suburbs of Paris, France. His mother is American and his father is French.Career
He began his film career with a series of short films, and as a film critic, before he released Boy Meets Girl. The piece established Carax's reputation for a mature visual style. It also saw the first grouping of Carax with Denis Lavant and cinematographer Jean-Yves Escoffier. He followed the piece with Mauvais Sang in 1986, which alienated some of his audience, but the work 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 proved a touching 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, which proved to be an expensive undertaking as Parisian authorities granted him only 10 days in which he could 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. However, on the first day of filming Denis Lavant injured his thumb severely, 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. That film, released in 1999, was an adaptation of Herman Melville's tale of incest, .
Carax's 2012 film Holy Motors stars his regular collaborator, Denis Lavant. The film competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.
Upcoming projects
Carax is set to direct Annette, a music-filled drama feature film written by Sparks and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. In 2017 he also guested vocals on the Sparks track "When You're a French Director" from their album Hippopotamus.Filmography
;Director| Year | Original title | Type |
| 1980 | Strangulation Blues | Short |
| 1984 | Boy Meets Girl | Feature |
| 1986 | Mauvais Sang | Feature |
| 1991 | Les Amants du Pont-Neuf | Feature |
| 1997 | Sans Titre | Short |
| 1999 | Pola X | Feature |
| 2002 | Carla Bruni: Quelqu'un m'a dit | Video short |
| 2003 | Carla Bruni: Tout le monde | Video short |
| 2005 | New Order: Crystal | Video short |
| 2006 | My Last Minute | Short |
| 2008 | Tokyo! - Segment "Merde" | Short |
| 2010 | 42 One Dream Rush | Short |
| 2012 | Holy Motors | Feature |
| 2014 | Gradiva | Short |
| TBA | Annette | Feature |
;Actor
| Year | Title |
| 1987 | King Lear |
| 1997 | The House |
| 2004 | Process |
| 2006 | 977 |
| 2007 | Mister Lonely |
| 2012 | Holy Motors |