Todd Haynes, Filmmaker of wonders

“Vulnerable characters who don't know how to express who they are and what they want touch me.”

The Lumière film festival welcomes Todd Haynes, a filmmaker who places the human being, in its most intimate sense, at the center of everything. Between 1991 and 2026, through some ten feature fiction films, the American director has put forth a cinematic vision that peers inside bodies to see into souls. Both physical and oneiric, containing a psychological aspect, Todd Haynes’s works wind their way along tortuous paths that are both aesthetically exquisite and passionately meaningful.

A filmmaker, screenwriter and producer, Haynes was born in 1961 in Los Angeles. In 1978, he shoots his first short, The Suicide, then seven years later, following his studies, he directs Assassins: A Film Concerning Rimbaud  (1985), centering on the French poet he adores. Settling in New York while still a student, he makes a name for himself with a new controversial short work in 1987, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. He imagines a dialogue with the legendary, beloved singer Karen Carpenter, who was battling anorexia, by staging a ballet using Barbie dolls. This work, which is no longer available for viewing, provoked a scandal due to its unflinching depiction of mental disease… Through this trio of short films, Haynes establishes the three defining themes of his cinema: childhood, popular music and the agony of living through physical illness.

"It's cool when people tell me that my movies are all different," Haynes claims, before adding, "All my films explore society and the individuals within it." In this character-focused cinema, Haynes probes their relationships with the outside world through their bodies. In 1991, he tackles this issue in his debut feature, Poison, composed of stories based on French writer Jean Genêt’s work. The film, which addresses male homosexuality, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and established Todd Haynes as a filmmaker to follow as an immensely intriguing artist, who would go on to receive numerous awards, notably at the Cannes Film Festival.

His next feature film, Safe  (1995), reveres fragile characters who defy all conventions due to their bodies and minds expressing fears and desires in subversive ways. Following with Far from Heaven  (2002), Carol  (2015), Wonderstruck  (2017), Dark Waters (2019) and May December  (2023), his œuvre overflows with vibrant beings who hold up a mirror to us through their struggles… In contrast, Haynes brings to life other iconic figures, namely musicians of the 1970s and 1980s in Velvet Goldmine  (1998) and I’m Not There  (2007). Flourishing works, fully accomplished, these multifaceted versions of David Bowie, Lou Reed and Bob Dylan reveal a deeply sensual and sexual cinematic dimension that treats both content and form with equal care. Along with his cinematographer Edward Lachman, Haynes creates images of remarkable depth. The colors range from the warmest, most vibrant Technicolor tones to somber hues. All are designed to draw the viewer’s eye ever deeper into the story without even realizing it, making Todd Haynes a grand filmmaker who knows how to entertain while also making us think.

Virginie Apiou