After starting out as a Cahiers du Cinéma critic, Carax, with his first feature at age 23, was immediately proclaimed the “bad boy” and “boy genius” of French cinema. Though he has only made five films in 30 years, each has made its own striking impact on critics, audiences, and filmmakers alike, each film’s release amounting to a riveting cinematic event. Infused with a distinctive romantic fatalism, his characters, like the travails that have limited his filmmaking output, encounter worlds full of alienation, chaos, and tragic love. Indicative of his eccentric passion, Carax, born Alex Christophe Dupont, adopted “Leos Carax” as his nom-de-cinéma—an anagram of Alex, his first name, and Oscar, as in Academy Award. It has also been suggested that “Leos Carax” can be read as “Le Oscar à X,” French for “The Oscar goes to X.” “Carax is a great self-fabulist, something like a mixture of Tarantino and Godard of the ’60s, thoroughly caught up in the melodrama of being a Great Moviemaker.... His best work is burning with a feeling for tragedy and apocalypse.”—David Thompson, THE NEW BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF FILM.

Our Northwest Tracking programs showcase the work of independent filmmakers living and working in the Northwest—Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington—whose work reflects the vibrant cinematic culture of the region. Whether presenting single artist retrospectives, new features, documentaries, or inspired collections of short works, Northwest Tracking offers testimony to the creativity and talent in our flourishing media arts community.