But there is no need to wait a whole year. Examples of the collection are already accessible on carlthdreyer.dk.
Carl Th. Dreyer (1889-1968) is undoubtedly the most important director in Danish cinema history. From his directorial debut in 1919 with "The President" to his seminal work "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc" in 1928 and his final piece "Gertrud" in 1964, Dreyer's passion, perfectionism and visual purity has been admired by filmmakers and film lovers through the decades.
Youthful daredevil
Although the general image of Dreyer is that of a grave, elderly gentleman, his youthful years tell an entirely different story. Starting out as a clerk, Dreyer soon plunged into journalism, writing scathing, scandalous portrait pieces for the tabloids.
Displaying a thirst for adventure and daredevilry, Dreyer even became a balloon pilot around 1910. And on one memorable occasion, he perched himself on a seat between the wheels of an aeroplane to report on a flight between Denmark and Sweden.
Fulfilling a long-standing wish
The DFI holds all of Dreyer's film as well as a unique collection of materials by and about Dreyer – working papers, original scripts, newspaper clippings, production notes, private letters, photographs, posters and much more.
The new Dreyer website, opening 3 February next year on Dreyer's birthday, fulfils a long-standing wish of the DFI: to catalogue the collection and make the many facets of Dreyer's life and work accessible to researchers and the general public.
Explore the collection
A temporary website has been set up, mapping the project and displaying samples of the collection as its builds up over the next months. Here, the public is invited to explore the site and discover some of the gems already available:
- A complete filmography
Gives the full view of Dreyer's 51 films as screenwriter and director
- The first pages of Dreyer's draft script for "Vampyr"
With handwritten notes, sketches and alterations
- An example of Dreyer's production design drawings
From "La passion de Jeanne d'Arc
- See a Dreyer film or film clip
A sequence from "Vampyr", the short film "Thorvaldsen" and others
carlthdreyer.dk/english
English version of the temporary Dreyer website
About the project
Objective, organisation & contacts, about the website
Invitation to contribute
If you have interesting film material, artifacts, articles or other information about Dreyer and his work, don't hesitate to contact us.
Danish Film Institute
Dan Nissen, DFI Head of the Archive & Cinematheque, +45 3374 3579, dann@dfi.dk
Lisbeth Richter Larsen, Project Manager, +45 3374 3536, lisbethrl@dfi.dk
Henrik Fuglsang, Project Coordinator, +45 3374 3556, henrikf@dfi.dk