Desire: The Carl Craig Story

PREMIERE: Carl Craig is one of the leading figures of Detroit techno—the genre that gave the crumbling Motor City its soulful electronic sound. A rich music documentary and portrait of Craig, tracing his musical influences from Motown to Kraftwerk.
PREMIERE: Carl Craig is one of the leading figures of Detroit techno – the genre that gave the crumbling Motor City its soulful electronic sound. A rich music documentary and portrait of Craig, tracing his musical influences from Motown to Kraftwerk.

The automotive city of Detroit experienced an unprecedented rise and fall in the 20th century, from which it is only slowly recovering. Born in 1969, during the heyday of the city, Carl Craig grew up in a black middle-class family who would have liked to see him go to university, but his interest was focused on making music. Together with pioneers Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May, Carl Craig helped shape the genre-spanning Detroit techno of the late 1980s, which soon had the global club scene dancing the night away.

Swiss director Jean-Cosme Delaloye, who lives in New York, combines interviews with Carl Craig and his loved ones with statements from those who were influenced by him or who can contextualise his career and influence. It is also a great pleasure to journey through Craig's musical influences, from his grandmother's church in Georgia to Motown, jazz and punk rock to the European electro-pop of the 1980s. Named after one of his tracks, this portrait of an influential producer and musician who still travels the world today is also an ode to his hometown of Detroit.