Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier is a Danish filmmaker recognized for his ambitious and visually distinctive works, influencing cinematic movements, and receiving numerous accolades, including the Palme d’Or. After earning two Best School Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools for ‘Nocturne’ and ‘Last Detail’ in 1982, Lars von Trier released his graduation film, ‘Images of Liberation’, as a theatrical feature. His international breakthrough came in 1984 with ‘The Element of Crime’, which garnered twelve awards across seven international festivals, including the Technical Grand Prize at Cannes and a Palme d’Or nomination. Von Trier continued his early career success with ‘Epidemic’, shown at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section in 1987, and directed the television film ‘Medea’, which won the Jean d’Arcy prize in France in 1988.

He completed his acclaimed ‘Europa’ trilogy in 1991, with the film ‘Europa’ winning the Prix du Jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. In 1992, seeking increased financial and creative autonomy, von Trier co-founded Zentropa Entertainment with producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. This production company has since sold over 350 million tickets globally and received multiple Academy Award nominations. He further influenced global cinema in 1995 by co-creating the avant-garde Dogme 95 manifesto with Thomas Vinterberg.

In 2018, von Trier premiered ‘The House That Jack Built’ at the Cannes Film Festival. Most recently, the third and final season of his celebrated miniseries, ‘The Kingdom’, titled ‘The Kingdom Exodus’, was released in 2022. Building on a career that boasts over 100 awards and 200 nominations across film festivals worldwide, including numerous honors at Cannes and nominations for Golden Globe and Academy Awards, von Trier announced in 2024 that he is developing a new film titled ‘After’, with filming scheduled to commence in 2025.