His first feature film, The Life of Jesus (1997) set the tone for what was to come, and introduced themes he became known for: violence, intimacy, compassion and cruelty. His films have been described as unrelentingly bleak, and Dumont is well-known in Europe for art house cinema that is sometimes controversial for treatments of religion, war, racism and sexuality. His TV series Li'l Quinquin was a big event in France, and earned one of their biggest audiences ever -- it's often described as Dumont's first comedy, and sold to American audiences as akin to David Lynch's Twin Peaks. His other films include Humanity (1999), Flanders (2006), Hadewijch (2009) and Outside Satan (2011).