Early international successMany film fans will remember Denmark’s all-time greatest international diva, the silent film actress Asta Nielsen (1881-1972). The famous Carl Th. Dreyer (1889-1968) was a film director of international proportions. Dreyer is often remembered for his tragic masterpiece “The Passion of Joan of Arc”(1928).Danish Oscar winnersA second international wave in Danish film came with the two Oscar-winning films “Pelle the Conqueror” (1987) directed by Bille August and “Babette’s Feast” (1987/1988) by Gabriel Axel.
Dogme 95In an enigmatic tongue-in-cheek style and a revolutionary spirit against established film, a collective of Danish film directors formulated the Dogme 95 manifesto. A Dogme director must follow the 10 rules as outlined in the director’s ‘Vow of Chastity.’ Put very simply, the Dogme film production refocuses the film on the narrative and does away with superfluous effects and action so often seen in commercial feature films.
Thomas Vinterberg and Lars von Trier whose signatures adorn the ‘Vow of Chastity’ made the first two Dogme films: “The Celebration” (1998) by Vinterberg and “The Idiots” (1998) by von Trier. Both were international successes. Since then, the Dogme movement have caught on among film directors all over the world, and over 25 Dogme films have been produced.
