Ole Christian Madsen's "Flame & Citron" merges history-writing with psychological portraits, adding new facets to the story of the Danish resistance. With more than half a million tickets sold since its release on March 28, the film has proven to be one of Danish cinema’s greatest successes in recent years.
Henrik Ruben Genz brings the grotesque tale in "Terribly Happy" to life in stark, carefully composed images, recalling the American provinces of Edward Hopper's lonesome tableaux or classic westerns. The calm editing furthers the impression of time passing slowly in the country. But under the quiet surface secrets lurk.
Civilisation is a wonderful thing, Kristian Levring says. But we need to keep in mind that people are animals who need a certain freedom. That's the subject of all his films, including his latest, "Fear Me Not".
You rarely see two countries acting as equal partners on a film. The Danish-Swedish coproduction "Everlasting Moments" by Swedish veteran auteur Jan Troell is the happy exception. Thomas Stenderup, the film's Danish producer, tells about his collaboration with Troell.
Cultivating a unique style and encouraging young animators to develop creative solutions on a low budget is one way for a small nation with a very down-to-earth sensibility to reach for the stars. That's the philosophy behind the second computer-animated feature from the internationally re respected Danish animation studio A. Film.
"Young Man Falling" directed by Martin de Thurah has been selected for the medium length films section of the 47th International Critics' Week.
Louise Vesth of Zentropa will be representing Danish cinema as Producer on the Move in Cannes.
Danish cinema is no longer all dogmas. It's genres, too. Among the new style-conscious genre films is Kasper Barfoed's thriller, "The Candidate". Cinematographer Manuel Alberto Claro was in charge of the film's documentary-expressionist feel.
Tougher earnings opportunities in the market, along with a need for innovation and reinvention, are putting the brakes on medium-budget Danish films. Now, many film companies are focusing on inexpensively made films instead. At the other end, high-budget productions are gaining ground as well.
The ThinkTank on Film and Film Policy was formally set up in June 2007 with the support of the Danish Film Institute. One focus of the initial work that it has kicked off with a three-day workshop in Vienna in April and which continues with a similar workshop in Amsterdam in June, is on the factors that affect the ability of films to access international markets.
Meta Louise Foldager, Lars von Trier's producer, is busy preparing his new thriller "Antichrist" – and she has other projects in the works.