Gaspar No

Since the release of his breakout film Irrversible in 2002, Gaspar No (b. 1963) has been labeled the principal provocateur of twenty-first-century French cinema. While many of the filmmakers complex and daring works have been reduced by his critics to their (innumerable) depictions of hallucinogens, violence, and unsimulated sexual intercoursethe latter rendered into vertiginous 3D with his film Loveother viewers have remained in steady awe of Nos dizzying camerawork, immersive visuality, and expressive editing. Nos cinema greets the short attention spans of digital life with works of extremities and endurance for performers and spectators alike. This first-of-its-kind collection of interviews documents Nos engagement with the feverish reception of his work and received ideas about his life and politics. Collecting conversations with critics, scholars, and artists, including fellow directors Matthew Barney, Abel Ferrara, and Harmony Korine, No speaks about his process as a writer, director, cinematographer, and editor. Also examined are his engagement with developing film technology and his fascination and indebtedness to past filmmakers such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Jean Eustache, Stanley Kubrick, and Sam Peckinpah. No discusses life in Buenos Aires and emigrating to France, his use of irony and melodrama, as well as his interest in documentary practices. Throughout, No explores his continuing examination of faith and secularism, body and mind, and the politics of spectatorship. Editor Geoffrey Lokkes introduction provides a close reading of No in conversation, assessing what has changed over the years in terms of the filmmakers aesthetics and presentation of self, as well as what No is reticent to articulate about his life and art.