22-05-2025
Carl Craig documentary to make Detroit premiere as Movement festival weekend ramps up
In his own lengthy career, Carl Craig has become accustomed to sleeper hits — music that simmers off the radar before catching fire to wide acclaim.
So the fast rise of a new documentary chronicling his work has been a refreshing surprise for the influential Detroit DJ and producer:
'Desire: The Carl Craig Story,' which is amid a prolific U.K. run, showcases the life and career of one of the most celebrated and innovative figures in the long history of Detroit techno. The 90-minute film was spearheaded by New York director Jean-Cosme Delaloye.
'My career is one where I do something and it takes a while before people get it,' Craig says, citing projects such as 1992's 'Bug in the Bassbin.' 'So when they told me the amount of screens showing this, it kind of blew my mind. Because that sounds like a hit record. It doesn't sound like the track under the counter at the record store.'
The film will have its Detroit premiere Thursday — his 56th birthday — at Michigan Central's Newlab center, including a post-screening discussion with Craig led by WDET-FM's Ann Delisi. A reprise showing is scheduled Friday evening.
Both are part of the bustling buildup to Movement weekend, the Memorial Day tradition that Craig helped launch with the Detroit Electronic Music Festival a quarter-century ago. (Craig is performing Saturday on the fest's Stargate Stage in a set with Moodymann, a Detroit friend and collaborator who's featured in the doc.)
'Desire' sheds light on an artist whose public persona has remained rather enigmatic through the decades, from his early Detroit family life to the globetrotting career that really took off after a 1989 London nightclub stint with Derrick May. It's an exploration of his eclectic influences — like deep jazz and the rhythms of copying machines at the shop where he once worked — and the path Craig trailblazed with his resulting work.
Craig was connected to Delaloye in 2020 by Swiss DJ and Detroit techno devotee Mirko Loko, 'one of my brothers from another mother,' as Craig calls him.
Delaloye was a veteran documentarian whose work had largely spotlighted political matter and social issues. Now he was seeking a topic outside that established zone.
'Mirko said, 'You know, you should follow Carl,'' Craig recounts. 'The plan at the beginning was they would follow me around for a year, and that would be the documentary. But as time moved on, the ideas changed. The creative juices moved around.'
So what started as a project that was merely 'journaling my life' evolved into a film with a far wider scope.
'It's more celebrating the music and the people influenced by the music,' Craig says. 'I love how it came out. It's 90 minutes of excellence, to me, and it's great to see my life on the screen.'
The documentary had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival, and earlier this month made its U.K. debut in 80 cinemas, including an IMAX presentation.
Craig was in that Tribeca audience last June for his first look at the film. He'd never seen himself on the big screen.
'I'm watching myself up there, watching my parents, close friends and mentors (on-screen). It was like watching my life unfold in front of me,' he says. 'I don't have to wait for a tragic accident or something where my life flashes before my eyes. I've already seen it.'
As much as 'Desire' is a celebration of Craig, it's an ode to the city that made him.
'Detroit has a reputation that I think a lot of people in the United States don't understand,' Craig says. 'Detroit has this mystical reputation (overseas) for all this great music that's come from here — great and long-lasting talent, from Motown to Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Eminem, Aretha.'
He hopes Delaloye's documentary — what Craig calls a love letter to Detroit — can do its part in shifting perceptions.
'Americans need to see that there's this respect for Detroit,' he says. 'People love it. The scene is revered, the music is revered. It's like a Valhalla for people when it comes to music.'
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@
Detroit documentary premiere
5:30 p.m. Thu. ($25), 5:30 p.m. Fri. ($15)
Newlab at Michigan Central
2050 15th St., Detroit
Sat.-Mon.
Hart Plaza, downtown Detroit
Single-day tickets ($205.66 general admission, $277.83 VIP) and three-day passes ($365.45 general admission, $499.47 VIP) available through See Tickets.
Festival parking info and other details at
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Carl Craig film to make Detroit premiere as Movement festival ramps up
