Lars von Trier

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Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier at Cannes in 2000
Born	Lars Trier (1956-04-30) 30 April 1956 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Occupation(s)	Film director and screenwriter
Spouse(s)	Cæcilia Holbek (1987-95) Bente Frøge (1997-)

Lars von Trier (Danish pronunciation: [ˈlɑːs fʌn ˈtʁiːˀɐ]; born Lars Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches.

Von Trier began making his own films at the age of 11 after receiving a Super-8 camera as a gift, and his first publicly released film was an experimental short called The Orchid Gardener, in 1977. His first feature film came seven years later, The Element of Crime, in 1984. As of 2010, he has directed a further 10 feature films, 5 short films and 4 television productions.

He has been married twice and is currently married to Bente Frøge. Von Trier suffers periodically from depression, as well as various fears and phobias, including an intense fear of flying. As he himself once put it, "Basically, I'm afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking".

Early life and career

Lars Trier was born in Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, the son of Inger Trier (née Høst, 1915—1989). He had believed that his biological father was Ulf Trier (1907—1978), but his mother revealed to him on her deathbed that he had been conceived as a result of an affair she had with her employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann. His mother considered herself a communist, while his father was social democrat, and both were committed nudists, and the young Lars went on several childhood holidays to nudist camps. They regarded the disciplining of children as reactionary. Trier has noted that he was brought up in an atheist family, and that although Ulf Trier was Jewish, he was not religious. He did not discover the identity of his biological father until 1989. His parents did not allow much room in their household for "feelings, religion, or enjoyment", and also refused to make any rules for their children, with complex results for von Trier's personality and development. The young Lars found in cinema an outlet to the outside world through which he could learn about subjects otherwise forbidden from his study by his parents. He began making his own films at the age of 11 after receiving a Super-8 camera as a gift and continued to be involved in independent moviemaking throughout his high school years.

In 1979, he was enrolled in the National Film School of Denmark. His peers at the film school nicknamed him "von Trier". The name is sort of an inside-joke with the von (German "of" or "from" used as a nobiliary particle), suggesting nobility, while Lars is a very common and Trier not an unusual name in Denmark. He reportedly kept the "von" name in homage to Erich von Stroheim and Josef von Sternberg, both of whom also added it later in life. During his time as a student at the school he made the films Nocturne (1980) and The Last Detail (Den sidste detalje, 1981), both of which won Best Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools, and he graduated with Images of a Relief (Befrielsesbilleder, 1982) in 1983.

Europe trilogy

After graduation he began work on the Europe trilogy, which started with a cerebral serial killer drama, The Element of Crime (Forbrydelsens element 1984). The film, which won a technical award at the Cannes Film Festival, was extremely stylized and marked a radical departure from normal Danish cinema.

This film was followed by Epidemic (1987), which was also shown as part of the official programme at Cannes. The film is partly a dark science fiction-tale of a future plague epidemic, and partly chronicles two filmmakers (played by Lars von Trier and screenwriter Niels Vørsel) preparing that film, with the two storylines ultimately colliding.

For television von Trier directed Medea (1988), which won the Jean d'Arcy prize in France. It was based on a screenplay by Carl Th. Dreyer and starred Udo Kier.

He completed the Europe-trilogy in 1991 with Europa (released as Zentropa in the U.S.), which won the Prix du Jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival and picked up awards at other major festivals.

In 1990 he also directed the music video for the worldwide hit "Bakerman" by Laid Back. This video was reused in 2006 by the English DJ and artist Shaun Baker who did a remake of Bakerman.

Zentropa and The Kingdom

In 1992 he co-founded together with producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen the movie production company Zentropa Entertainment, named after a train company in Europa, their most recent film at the time. The reason for doing this was to achieve financial independence and to have total creative control. The production company has produced many movies other than von Trier's own as well as television series. It is also the world's only mainstream film studio to have produced hardcore sex films: Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999), HotMen CoolBoyz (2000) and All About Anna (2005).

In order to make money for his newly founded company, he made The Kingdom (Riget, 1994) and The Kingdom II (Riget II, 1997), a pair of miniseries recorded in the Danish national hospital, the name "Riget" being a colloquial name for the hospital known as Rigshospitalet (lit. The Kingdom's Hospital) in Danish. A projected third installment in the series has been derailed due to the death of Ernst-Hugo Järegård, who played Helmer, one of the major characters.

Dogme 95

In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg presented their manifesto for a new cinematic movement which they called Dogme 95. It would however take a while before the first of these films appeared, and at this point many thought of the concept mainly as a radical idea with no future.

Von Trier's next film, Breaking the Waves (1996) which won the Grand Prix at Cannes, features Emily Watson, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Its grainy images and hand-held photography pointed towards Dogme95. Breaking the Waves is the first film in von Trier's 'Golden Heart Trilogy' which also includes The Idiots (1998) and Dancer in the Dark (2000).

Also in 1996, von Trier conducted an unusual theatrical experiment in Copenhagen involving 53 actors, which he titled Psychomobile 1: The World Clock. A documentary chronicling the project was directed by Jesper Jargil, and was released in 2000 with the title De Udstillede (The Exhibited).

Lars von Trier made his own contribution to the Dogme 95 movement with The Idiots (Idioterne, 1998), and even overcame his dislike of traveling to present it in person at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Palme d'Or.

As originator of the Dogme 95 concept, which has led to international interest in Danish film as a whole, he has inspired filmmakers all over the world. Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the Dogme 95 Manifesto and the "Vow of Chastity" together with their fellow Dogme directors Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen shared in 2008 the European Film Award European Achievement in World Cinema.

Explicit images

Von Trier's use of sexually explicit images in The Idiots (1998) started a wave of arthouse mainstream films with unsimulated sex, such as Catherine Breillat's Romance (1999), Baise-Moi (2000), Intimacy (2001), Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny (2003) and Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs (2004).

In 1998, Lars von Trier also made history by having his company Zentropa be the world's first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornographic films. Three of these films, Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999) and the adult/mainstream crossover-feature All About Anna (2005), were made primarily for a female audience, and were extremely successful in Europe, with the first two being directly responsible for the March 2006 legalizing of pornography in Norway.

Women too like to see other people having sex. What they don’t like is the endless close-ups of hammering bodyparts without a story. Lars von Trier is the first to have realised this and produced valuable quality porn films for women.

— Stern #40, 27 September 2007

Lars von Trier's initiative spearheaded a European wave of female-friendly porn films from directors such as Anna Span, Erika Lust and Petra Joy, while von Trier's company Zentropa was forced to abandon the experiment due to pressure from English business partners. In July 2009, women's magazine Cosmopolitan ranked Pink Prison as #1 in its Top Five of the best women’s porn, calling it the "role model for the new porn-generation". Lars von Trier would return to explicit images in his self-directed Antichrist (2009), exploring darker themes.

2000s

In 2000, von Trier premiered a musical featuring Icelandic musician Björk, Dancer in the Dark. The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. The song "I've Seen It All" (which Trier co-wrote) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song.

The Five Obstructions (2003), made by Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth, is a documentary, but also incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films. The premise is that Lars von Trier challenges director Jørgen Leth, his friend and mentor, to remake his old experimental film The Perfect Human (1967) five times, each time with a different 'obstruction' (or obstacle) specified by von Trier.

He then directed two films in his announced 'U.S. trilogy': Dogville (2003), starring Nicole Kidman and Manderlay (2005), starring Bryce Dallas Howard in the same role. Both films are extremely stylized, with the actors playing their parts on a nearly empty soundstage with little but chalk marks on the floor to indicate the sets. Both films had huge casts of major international actors (Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Danny Glover, Willem Dafoe, etc.), and questioned various issues relating to American society, such as intolerance in Dogville and slavery in Manderlay.

Controversy erupted on the 2004 set for Manderlay when actor John C. Reilly walked off the Trollhättan, Sweden, set in late March. Reilly walked off the film when he learned that an upcoming scene involved the slaughter of a donkey for food. The film's producer says the animal—who was old and not expected to live much longer—was killed off camera by a certified veterinarian, in accordance with Swedish law. Reilly was replaced by Zeljko Ivanek.

The U.S. was also the scene for Dear Wendy (2005), a feature film directed by von Trier's "Dogme-brother" Thomas Vinterberg from a script by von Trier. It starred Jamie Bell and Bill Pullman and dealt with gun worship. Both Manderlay and Dear Wendy failed to attract much of an audience, and were along with other simultaneous flops from important local directors perceived as confirmation of a creative crisis in Danish cinema.

In 2006, von Trier released a Danish-language comedy film, The Boss of it All. It was shot using a process that von Trier has called Automavision, which involves the director choosing the best possible fixed camera position and then allowing a computer to randomly choose when to tilt, pan or zoom.

It was followed by an autobiographical film, De unge år: Erik Nietzsche sagaen del 1 (2007), scripted by von Trier but directed by Jacob Thuesen, which tells the story of von Trier's years as a student at the National Film School of Denmark. It stars Jonatan Spang as von Trier's alter ego, called "Erik Nietzsche", and is narrated by von Trier himself. All main characters in the film are based on real people from the Danish film industry, with the thinly veiled portrayals including Jens Albinus as director Nils Malmros, Dejan Cukic as screenwriter Mogens Rukov and Søren Pilmark in an especially unflattering portrayal as sex-obsessed school principal Henning Camre.

Lars von Trier's next feature film was a horror movie, Antichrist, about "a grieving couple who retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping a return to Eden will repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage; but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse". The film, which has sexually explicit content, stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. It premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where the festival's jury honoured the movie by giving the Best Actress award to Gainsbourg. The Cannes Film Festival Ecumenical Jury, which gives prizes for movies that promote spiritual, humanist and universal values, also "honoured" the film with a special "anti-award"; a spokesman for the jury described it as "the most misogynist movie from the self-proclaimed biggest director in the world." In 2010 the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported on their website that the film production company Zentropa is reportedly making more revenue from suing movie pirates in Germany that have downloaded Antichrist illegally than from box office and DVD sales, demanding a payment of around 1,300 euros per download to avoid legal action.

2010s

Von Trier's latest work is Melancholia, a psychological disaster drama; shot between 22 July and 8 September 2010 at Film i Väst's studios in Trollhättan, Sweden, and with exteriors in the area surrounding the Tjolöholm Castle, the €5 million ($7 million) budget movie is set to be released in Denmark on 26 May 2011 through Nordisk Film. Magnolia Pictures has acquired the distribution rights for North America. The film is in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Von Trier announced that after finishing Melancholia he hopes to begin production of The Nymphomaniac, a film about the sexual awakening of a woman. The director explained how he got the idea for the upcoming project: "my DP on [Melancholia], Manuel Claro, at one point voiced a surprising prejudice. He urged me not to fall into the trap that so many aging directors fall into – that the women get younger and younger and nuder and nuder. That's all I needed to hear. I most definitely intend for the women in my films to get younger and younger and nuder and nuder."

Phobias

Von Trier suffers from multiple phobias, including an intense fear of flying. His fear of air travel frequently places severely limiting constraints on him and his crew, necessitating that virtually all of his films be shot in either Denmark or Sweden, even those set in the United States or other foreign countries. Von Trier has had a number of his films featured at the Cannes Film Festival over the course of his career, and each time has insisted on driving from Denmark to France for the festival and back.

On numerous occasions von Trier has also stated that he suffers from occasional depression which renders him incapable of performing his work and unable to uphold social relations.

Filming techniques

Lars von Trier has said that "a film should be like a stone in your shoe". In order to create original art he feels that filmmakers must distinguish themselves stylistically from other films, often by placing restrictions on the filmmaking process. The most famous restriction is the cinematic "vow of chastity" of the Dogme95 movement with which he is associated, though only one of his films, The Idiots, is an actual Dogme 95 film. In Dancer in the Dark, jump shots and dramatically-different color palettes and camera techniques were used for the "real world" and musical portions of the film, and in Dogville everything was filmed on a sound stage with no set where the walls of the buildings in the fictional town were marked as a line on the floor.

Von Trier often shoots digitally and operates the camera himself, preferring to continuously shoot the actors in-character without stopping between takes. In Dogville he let actors stay in character for hours, in the style of method acting. These techniques often put great strain on actors, most famously with Björk during the filming of Dancer in the Dark. Often he uses the same regular group of actors in many of his films: some of his frequently used actors are Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgård.

He is heavily influenced by the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer and the film The Night Porter. He was so inspired by the short film The Perfect Human directed by Jørgen Leth that he challenged Leth to redo the short five times in feature film The Five Obstructions.

Trilogies

Von Trier has on occasion referred to his films as falling into thematic and stylistic trilogies. This pattern began with his first feature film, marking the beginning of The Europa Trilogy, though he claims a trilogy was not initially planned, instead being applied to the films in retrospect. The Europe trilogy illuminated the traumas of Europe in the past and future. This trilogy includes The Element of Crime (1984), Epidemic (1988) and Europa (1991).

The Golden Heart trilogy was about naive heroines who maintain their 'golden hearts' despite the tragedies they experience. This trilogy consists of Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998) and Dancer in the Dark (2000). While all three films are sometimes associated with the Dogme 95 movement, only The Idiots is a certified Dogme 95 film.

The USA: Land of Opportunities trilogy follows the character of Grace, and is set in a stylized American past. Von Trier has stated he was inspired to make a trilogy about the United States as a reaction to Americans at the Cannes film festival who said he had no right to make the Dancer in the Dark, which was often viewed as being critical of a country he has never been to (and has no intention of ever visiting, due to his phobia of travel); however, von Trier himself has stated in interviews he did not intend it to be a criticism of America, saying the film takes place in a "fictional America". Lars von Trier proposed the films as ‘a series of sermons on America’s sins and hypocrisy’, inspired by the fact that American movie makers have made many movies about places across the world to which they have not travelled. All three movies will be shot in the same distinctive style, on a bare sound stage with no set and buildings marked by lines on the floor. This style is inspired by 1970s televised theatre. The trilogy will consist of Dogville (2003), Manderlay (2005) and the so far unproduced Wasington.

The Kingdom (Riget) was planned as a trilogy of three seasons with 13 episodes in total, but the third season was not filmed due to death of star Ernst-Hugo Järegård shortly after completion of the second season.

Biological father

In 1989, von Trier's mother revealed on her deathbed that the man who he thought was his father was not, and that she had had a tryst with her former employer, Fritz Michael Hartmann (1909–2000), who descended from a long line of Roman Catholic classical musicians (His grandfather was Emil Hartmann, his great grandfather J.P.E. Hartmann, his uncles included Niels Gade and Johan Ernst Hartmann and thus Niels Viggo Bentzon was his cousin). She stated that she did this in order to give her son "artistic genes".

Until that point I thought I had a Jewish background. But I'm really more of a Nazi. I believe that my biological father's German family went back two further generations. Before she died, my mother told me to be happy that I was the son of this other man. She said my foster father had had no goals and no strength. But he was a loving man. And I was very sad about this revelation. And you then feel manipulated when you really do turn out to be creative. If I'd known that my mother had this plan, I would have become something else. I would have shown her. The slut!

After four awkward meetings with his biological father, the man refused further contact. The revelations led von Trier to attempt to "erase" the connections with his stepfather by converting to Catholicism, and to rework his filmmaking into a style emphasizing "honesty".

I don't know if I'm all that Catholic really. I'm probably not. Denmark is a very Protestant country. Perhaps I only turned Catholic to piss off a few of my countrymen.

Controversy at Cannes 2011

On Thursday 19th May 2011, Cannes Film Festival's board of directors declared von Trier persona non grata for saying he was a Nazi in a rambling answer to a question about his German roots in a Press Conference for his film Melancholia the day before.It was the first time the film festival had ever done this. Von Trier expressed "sympathy for and understanding of" Adolf Hitler and Albert Speer, and then jokingly claimed to be a Nazi.

The remarks were in response to a question from Kate Muir, chief film critic for the London Times, asking about Von Trier's recent comments in the Danish Film Institute magazine, in which he had discussed his rediscovered German ancestry (see "Biological father", above), and expressed admiration for the "Nazi aesthetic." Based on unedited audio footage of the news conference, this is a transcript of the session (footnotes indicate partial transcripts found in other sources):

Moderator: We'll take just two more questions, short. [Designates two journalists.]

Journalist #1: Kate Muir, from the Times of London. My question follows on from the German Romantic thing. Can you talk a bit about your German roots, and the Gothic aspect of this film? And also you mentioned in a Danish film magazine also about your interest in the Nazi aesthetic, and you talked about that ... German roots at the same time, can you tell us a bit more about that?

Von Trier: Yes well the only thing I can tell is that I thought I was a Jew for a long time, and was very happy being a Jew. Then, later on came Susanne Bier and then suddenly I wasn't so happy about being a Jew. - No, that was a joke, sorry. [Laughter.] But it turned out that I was not a Jew and, even if I'd been a Jew, I would be kind of a second-rate Jew because there are kind of a hierarchy in the Jewish population.

But anyway, I really wanted to be a Jew, and then I found out that I was really a Nazi, you know ... because my family was German, Hartmann ... which also gave me some pleasure [chuckles], so I'm kind of ...

A journalist: Sir?

Von Trier (continuing): I ... what can I say? I understand Hitler. But ... I think he did some wrong things, yes absolutely. But I can see him sitting in his bunker in the end.

Kirsten Dunst (aside): Oh my God, this is terrible!

Von Trier (turning to Kirsten Dunst to reassure her): But there will come a point at the end of this! I will, I will...

Von Trier (turning again to the reporters): No, I'm just saying that I think I understood the man. He's not what you would call a good guy, but I ... I understand ... much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit, yes. - But come on, I'm not for the Second World War! And I'm not against Jews - Suzanne Bier, yes - no, not even Susanne Bier! - that was also a joke. [Laughter.] I'm of course very much for Jews - no, not too much because Israel is a pain in the ass - but still, how can I get out of this sentence?

A journalist: By another question! Here's your salvation.

Von Trier: No, I just want to say, about the art of the ... I'm very much for Speer. Speer I liked. Albert Speer I liked. He was also maybe [not?] one of God's best children, but he had some talent that was kind of ... possible for him to use during ... [sighs] OK, I'm a Nazi! [Laughter]

Journalist #2: Completely different note - Peter Hall, [unintelligible] newspaper. Question for Mr. Von Trier. Mr. Von Trier, uh, Melancholia - would you consider this your answer to the Hollywood blockbuster, and if not, could you envision doing a film on a grander scale than this?

Von Trier: On a grander scale? ... Yeah, that's what we Nazis ... we have a tendency to try to do things on a greater scale. [Laughter.] Yeah, maybe you could persuade me into ... "The Final Solution" ... with journalists. No, I'm, I'm rambling.

Moderator: Well, on that very, very strange note, I'm afraid our time is up. Thank you very much you all for being here.

Kirsten Dunst: Oh Lars, that was intense.

Some reports of the news conference stated that Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg were uncomfortable with what Von Trier was saying. However, the video footage shows Kirsten Dunst laughing frequently, and Charlotte Gainsbourg smiling and laughing.

Von Trier has also attracted attention for another remark he made earlier on in the press conference. He was reported to have said that is planning to make a hardcore porn film featuring Kirsten Dunst, and the gossip press prominently juxtaposed this remark with his statement about the Nazis. But the remark about porn was an ironic reply to a question from a journalist about Kirsten Dunst's nude scene in Melancholia. This is the full transcript of the statement:

Von Trier: But I would like to talk about my next film, which is - Kirsten insisted - going to be a porn film. And we made this very famous beaver shot in the film, where Kirsten demanded to be naked, and I said, 'But it doesn't really fit the film.' And she says, 'No no no no no, I feel strongly for this,' and I said 'OK, let's put it in.' And now she wants more. [Laughter] You know, that's how women are. And Charlotte is behind this - they want a really, really, really hardcore film this time. And I'm doing my best. I said, 'But then's let's make a lot of talking between, they should add a lot of dialogue,' and they said, 'We don't give a shit about the dialogue. We just want to, you know... have a lot of very very unpleasant sex.' And that's what I'm writing right now. So ... and it's going to be three or four hours long. And the only reason for that is that this press conference will be a little later. So I can sleep a little longer.

It was also reported that Von Trier revealed that Charlotte Gainsbourg had real orgasms on screen, while Kirsten Dunst faked hers. However, this also seems to have been said in jest. During a discussion of a projected film with Kirsten Dunst about the schism between the Eastern and Western Christian Churches, Von Trier said, "The whole discussion about the Eastern Church is very important for her orgasms. - In the film of course. They are all fake. They are all fake. Charlotte is not fake. But that is two different ways of acting. It's a French versus a more ... [He trailed off and was interrupted by another question.]"

Hours later, Von Trier released a brief statement of apology about his comments at the press conference: "If I have hurt someone this morning by the words I said at the press conference, I sincerely apologise. I am not anti-semitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi." However, by then the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants had already issued a statement condemning Von Trier as a "moral failure".

The next day, the festival directors held an extraordinary meeting and decided to throw out Von Trier, saying his remarks were "unacceptable, intolerable and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival. [...] The board of directors condemns these comments and declares Lars von Trier persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately." Afterwards, Von Trier held a news conference of his own in Danish. His first remark to the Danish journalists was: "If any of you journalists will beat me, so just do it. I will enjoy it." He went on to say that "The Holocaust is the worst crime that ever happened. I have nothing against Jews. I have a Jewish name, and all my children have Jewish names." He admitted that his remarks about the Nazis had been misguided, saying "It was really stupidly done and it was in the wrong forum. At the press conference with Danish journalists, there were no problems, but I do not think the international journalists understand my Danish humor." But he also said he was proud to have been kicked out of the Cannes festival: "I am proud to have been declared 'persona non grata'. It is perhaps the first time in cinematic history, it has happened. ... I think one reason is that French people treated the Jews badly during World War II. Therefore, it is a sensitive topic for them. I respect the Cannes festival very highly, but I also understand that they are very angry at me right now."

Speaking to other news outlets he said that his comments were "very sarcastic and very rude, but that's very Danish." He also added, "I don't sympathize with Hitler for one second."

Filmography

Year	English Title	Original Title	Awards	Notes
1977	The Orchid Gardener	Orchidégartneren		37', 16mm, B/W
1979	Menthe: La bienheureuse	Menthe: La bienheureuse		31', 16mm, B/W
1980	Nocturne	Nocturne	1981 Munich International Festival of Film Schools Award for Best Film	8', 16mm, B/W & color
1981	The Last Detail	Den sidste detalje	1982 Munich International Festival of Film Schools Award for Best Film	31', 16mm, B/W
1982	Images of a Relief	Befrielsesbilleder		57', 35mm, color Graduation film from the National Film School of Denmark
1984	The Element of Crime	Forbrydelsens element	1984 Cannes Film Festival Technical Grand Prize 1984 Mannheim-Heidelberg International Filmfestival Josef von Sternberg Award 1984 Vulcain Prize Technical Grand Prize 1985 Bodil Award for Best Film 1985 Robert Award in 7 categories: Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Special Effects 1986 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director Nominated - 1984 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 1985 Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Grand Prix Nominated - 1986 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film	1st film in the Europa trilogy
1987	Epidemic	Epidemic	Nominated - 1988 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film	2nd film in the Europa trilogy
1988	Medea	Medea	1989 Jean d'Arcy Prize (Bourse d'Arcy) for Best TV Film	75' Telefilm based on an unrealized script by Carl Theodor Dreyer
1991	Europa	Europa	1991 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize 1991 Cannes Film Festival Best Artistic Contribution 1991 Cannes Film Festival Technical Grand Prize 1991 Ghent International Film Festival Grand Prix 1991 Stockholm Film Festival Bronze Horse 1991 Vulcain Prize Technical Grand Prize 1992 Bodil Award for Best Film 1992 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director 1992 Robert Award in 7 categories: for Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Film, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound and for Best Special Effects 1992 Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival for Best Film and for Best Cinematography Nominated - 1991 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 1992 European Film Award for Best Actress and for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - 1992 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film	3rd film in the Europa trilogy
1994	The Kingdom I	Riget	1995 Bodil Award for Best Film 1995 Bodil Award for Best Actor: Ernst-Hugo Järegård 1995 Bodil Award for Best Actress: Kirsten Rolffes 1995 Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor: Holger Juul Hansen 1995 Honary Bodil Award: Niels Vørsel 1995 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Actor Award: Ernst-Hugo Järegård 1995 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Best Director Award 1995 Robert Award in 6 categories: for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Screenplay, and for Best Sound 1995 Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film 1996 Adolf Grimme Award 1996 Golden Cable (Germany) Bronze Cable for Innovation Nominated - 1995 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Crystal Globe	TV miniseries
1996	Breaking the Waves	Breaking the Waves	1996 Amanda Award for Best Nordic Feature Film 1996 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix 1996 European Film Award for Best Film 1996 European Film Award for Best Actress: Emily Watson 1996 European Film Award FIPRESCI Prize 1996 Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer: Emily Watson 1996 London Film Critics' Circle ALFS Award for British Newcomer of the Year: Emily Watson 1996 Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award: Emily Watson 1996 Lübeck Nordic Film Days Baltic Film Prize for a Nordic Feature Film 1996 Lübeck Nordic Film Days Prize of the Ecumenical Jury 1996 National Society of Film Critics NSFC Award in 4 categories: Best Film, Best Actress, Best Cinematography and for Best Director 1996 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress: Emily Watson 1996 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematographer: Robby Müller 1996 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director 1996 Satellite Awards Golden Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture - Foreign Language 1996 Stockholm Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize in the Northern Lights Section 1996 Vancouver International Film Festival award for Most Popular Film 1997 Bodil Award for Best Film 1997 Bodil Award for Best Actress: Emily Watson 1997 Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actress: Katrin Cartlidge 1997 César Award for Best Foreign Film 1997 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival President Award for Best Director 1997 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival President Award for Best Actress: Emily Watson 1997 Fotogramas de Plata for Best Foreign Film 1997 Robert Award in 9 categories: Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Make-Up, Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Supporting Actress 1997 Swedish Film Institute Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film 1997 Uruguay International Film Festival award for Best Film 1998 Czech Lion for Best Foreign Language Film 1999 Art Film Festival IGRIC Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 1996 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role: Emily Watson Nominated - 1996 Camerimage Golden Frog Nominated - 1996 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 1996 London Film Critics' Circle ALFS Award for British Actress of the Year: Emily Watson Nominated - 1996 Satellite Awards Golden Satelvillite Award in 3 categories: Best Director of a Motion Picture,Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama, and for Outstanding Cinematography Nominated - 1997 Australian Film Institute AFI Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 1997 BAFTA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Emily Watson Nominated - 1997 Chlotrudis Awards for Best Actress: Emily Watson Nominated - 1997 Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama and for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Nominated - 1997 Goya Award for Best European Film Nominated - 1997 Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film	1st film in the Golden Heart trilogy
1997	The Kingdom II	Riget II	1998 Bodil Award for Best Actor and for Best Supporting Actress 1999 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Director 1999 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Screenplay Nominated - 1999 Fantasporto International Fantasy Film Award for Best Film	TV miniseries
1998	The Idiots	Idioterne	1998 London Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize 1999 Bodil Award in 3 categories: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress 1999 Robert Award for Best Actress: Bodil Jørgensen Nominated - 1998 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 1998 European Film Award for Best Screenwriter Nominated - 1998 Valladolid International Film Festival Golden Spike Nominated - 1999 Bodil Award for Best Film	2nd film in the Golden Heart trilogy 2nd film under the Dogme '95 Manifesto
2000	Dancer in the Dark	Dancer in the Dark	2000 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or 2000 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress: Björk 2000 Edda Awards for Actress of the Year: Björk 2000 European Film Award for Best Film 2000 European Film Award for Best Actress: Björk 2000 European Film Award Audience Award for Best Director 2000 European Film Award Audience Award for Best Actress: Björk 2000 National Board of Review NBR Award Outstanding Dramatic Musical Performance by an Actress: Björk 2000 Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematic Debut/Breakthrough: Björk 2000 Satellite Awards Golden Satellite Award for Best Original Song 2001 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Language Film 2001 Bodil Award for Best Actress: Björk 2001 Goya Award for Best European Film 2001 Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film 2001 Japanese Academy Award for Best Foreign Film 2001 Robert Award in 5 categories: Best Actress, Best Original Score, Best Editing, Best Production Design and Best Sound 2001 Russian Guild of Film Critics Golden Aries for Best Foreign Actress: Björk 2001 Turia Awards Audience Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 2000 Camerimage Golden Frog Nominated - 2000 Chlotrudis Awards in 5 categories: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Nominated - 2000 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Sierra Award for Best Actress: Björk Nominated - 2000 Las Vegas Film Critics Society Sierra Award for Best Female Newcomer: Björk Nominated - 2000 Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing - Music - Musical Feature (Foreign & Domestic) Nominated - 2000 Online Film Critics Society Awards in 5 categories: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Film, Best Film Editing and Best Original Score Nominated - 2000 Satellite Awards in 3 categories: Best Motion Picture, Drama, for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama and for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama Nominated - 2001 Academy Award for Original Song ("I've Seen It All"): Björk (composer) & Lars von Trier (lyricist) Nominated - 2001 Bodil Award for Best Film Nominated - 2001 Brit Award for Best Soundtrack Nominated - 2001 César Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 2001 Chicago Film Critics Association CFCA Award for Best Actress: Björk Nominated - 2001 Chicago Film Critics Association CFCA Award for Best Original Score Nominated - 2001 Cinema Writers Circle Awards CEC Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 2001 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture Nominated - 2001 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama: Björk Nominated - 2001 Golden Trailer Award for Best Music Nominated - 2001 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for Best Original Song Nominated - 2001 Robert Award in 6 categories: Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Film, Best Make-Up and Best Supporting Actress	3rd film in the Golden Heart trilogy
2000	D-Dag	D-Dag		Telefilm Segment: Lise
2003	Dogville	Dogville	2003 Copenhagen International Film Festival Honorary Award 2003 European Film Award for Best Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle 2003 European Film Award for Best Director 2003 Palm Dog Award for "Moses" 2003 Russian Guild of Film Critics Golden Aries for Best Foreign Actress: Nicole Kidman 2003 Russian Guild of Film Critics Golden Aries for Best Foreign Film 2004 Bodil Award for Best Film 2004 Cinema Writers Circle Awards CEC Award for Best Foreign Film 2004 David di Donatello Awards for Best European Film 2004 Guild of German Art House Cinemas (Gilde-Filmpreis) Guild Film Silver Award for Foreign Film 2004 Robert Award for Best Costume Design 2004 Robert Award for Best Screenplay: Lars von Trier 2004 Sofia International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Film 2005 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 2003 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 2003 European Film Award Audience Award for Best Director Nominated - 2003 European Film Award Audience Award for Best Film Nominated - 2003 European Film Award Audience Award for Best Screenwriter Nominated - 2004 Bodil Award for Best Actress Nominated - 2004 Bodil Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - 2004 César Award for Best European Union Film Nominated - 2004 Goya Award for Best European Film Nominated - 2004 Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists Silver Ribbon for Best Director of Foreign Film Nominated - 2004 Robert Award in 6 categories: Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Film, Best Production Design and Best Supporting Actor Nominated - 2004 Swedish Film Institute Guldbagge Award for Best Foreign Film Nominated - 2005 Chlotrudis Awards for Best Cast Nominated - 2005 Chlotrudis Awards for Best Screenplay - Original Nominated - 2005 Golden Trailer Award for Best Independent	1st film in the USA - Land of Opportunities trilogy
2003	The Five Obstructions	De fem benspænd	2004 Motovun Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize Nominated - 2003 Copenhagen International Documentary Festival CPH:DOX Award Nominated - 2004 European Film Awards Best Documentary Award	Experimental documentary co-directed with Jørgen Leth
2005	Manderlay	Manderlay	2005 Valladolid International Film Festival 50th Anniversary Prize Nominated - 2005 European Film Award in 3 categories: Best Cinematographer, Best Composer and Best Production Designer Nominated - 2005 Valladolid International Film Festival Golden Spike Nominated - 2006 Bodil Award for Best Film Nominated - 2006 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 2006 Robert Award in 9 categories: Best Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Film, Best Production Design, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Special Effects/Lighting	2nd film in the USA - Land of Opportunities trilogy
2006	The Boss of It All	Direktøren for det hele	Nominated - 2007 Robert Award for Best Original Screenplay
2007	To Each His Own Cinema	Chacun son cinéma		Segment: Occupations
2009	Antichrist	Antichrist	2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg 2009 European Film Award for Best Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle 2009 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival Titra Film Award 2009 Nordic Council Film Prize 2010 Bodil Award for Best Film 2010 Bodil Award for Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg 2010 Bodil Award for Best Actor: Willem Dafoe 2010 Bodil Award for Best Director of Photography: Anthony Dod Mantle 2010 Special Bodil Award for sound design: Kristian Eidnes Andersen 2010 Robert Award for Best Film 2010 Robert Award for Best Director 2010 Robert Award for Best Cinematographer: Anthony Dod Mantle 2010 Robert Award for Best Editor: Anders Refn 2010 Robert Award for Best Screenplay: Lars von Trier 2010 Robert Award for Best Sound: Kristian Eidnes Andersen 2010 Robert Award for Best Special Effects: Peter Hjorth 2010 Sant Jordi Awards for Best Foreign Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg Nominated - 2009 Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominated - 2009 European Film Award for Best Actress and for Best Director Nominated - 2009 Palm Dog Award for Talking Fox Nominated - 2010 Chlotrudis Awards for Best Actress and for Best Cinematography Nominated - 2010 Robert Award in 5 categories: for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Costume Design, Best Make-Up and for Best Production Design Nominated - 2010 Zulu Award for Best Film
2010	Dimension	Dimension		Short film (27 minutes) Abandoned feature film project filmed 1991-97
2011	Melancholia	Melancholia		Expected to premiere in May 2011
TBA	The Nymphomaniac	The Nymphomaniac		Feature film in pre-production

References

Further reading

• Bainbridge, Caroline (2007). The cinema of Lars von Trier: authenticity and artifice. Wallflower Press. ISBN 9781905674442. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Goss, Brian Michael (January 2009). Global auteurs: politics in the films of Almodóvar, von Trier, and Winterbottom. Peter Lang. ISBN 9781433101342. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Lasagna, Roberto; Lena, Sandra (1 June 2003). Lars von Trier (in French). Gremese Editore. ISBN 9788873015437. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Livingston, Paisley; Plantinga, Carl R. (3 December 2008). The Routledge companion to philosophy and film. Routledge. ISBN 9780415771665. Retrieved 11 October 2010. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Lumholdt, Jan (2003). Lars von Trier: interviews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781578065325. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Schepelern, Peter (2000). Lars von Triers film: tvang og befrielse (in Danish). Rosinante. ISBN 9788762101647. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Simons, Jan (15 September 2007). Playing the waves: Lars Von Trier's game cinema. Amsterdam University Press. ISBN 9789053569795. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Stevenson, Jack (2002). Lars von Trier. British Film Institute. ISBN 9780851709024. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Stevenson, Jack (2003). Dogme uncut: Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterburg, and the gang that took on Hollywood. Santa Monica Press. ISBN 9781891661358. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Trier, Lars von; Addonizio, Antonio (1 January 1999). Il dogma della libertà: conversazioni con Lars von Trier (in Italian). Edizioni della battaglia. ISBN 9788887630077. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Trier, Lars von; Björkman, Stig (2003). Trier on von Trier. Faber and Faber. ISBN 9780571207077. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
• Tiefenbach, Georg: Drama und Regie (Writing and Directing): Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville. 2010 Königshausen & Neumann. ISBN 9783826040962

External links

• Lars von Trier at IMDb
• Lars from 1–10
• Production Company
• The Director Interviews: Lars von Trier, The Boss of It All at Filmmaker Magazine
• Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
• Geoffrey Macnab, "I'm a control freak - but I was not in control" (Geoffrey Macnab talks to Lars Von Trier), The Guardian (22 September 2006).
• Slave to cinema
• The Age Interview
• Timeout Interview