Grand Prix to Sentimental Value
Film history was made when Norwegian-Danish director Joachim Trier’s film ‘Sentimental Value’ received the Grand Prix at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
‘Sentimental Value’ was in the main competition for the Palme d’Or and became the first Norwegian film ever to win the Grand Prix—Cannes’ second-most prestigious award, which Lars von Trier previously received for ‘Breaking the Waves’ in 1996.
The film includes several key Danish contributors: cinematography by Kasper Tuxen, editing by Olivier Bugge Coutté, visual effects supervised by Esben Syberg, and co-production by Sisse Graum for Zentropa.
Camera Film will handle distribution in Danish cinemas, while Nordisk Film distributes it across the rest of the Nordic countries. The film is supported by the Danish Film Institute.
DOGME 25
Cannes 2025 also marked the year when five Danish directors came together as an artistic collective in honor of the 30th anniversary of Dogme 96. With a shared manifesto and a new vow of chastity, they launched DOGME 25— a new set of rules designed to defend the artistic integrity of fiction filmmaking and make space for uncompromising cinematic storytelling in a new era.
The DOGME 25 collective, founded in May 2025, consists of directors May el-Toukhy, Milad Alami, Annika Berg, Isabella Eklöf, and Jesper Just. With a common manifesto and vow, the five filmmakers seek to renegotiate the conditions of filmmaking in a time when productions and crews are expanding, processes accelerating, and technology increasingly dictates artistic expression—often resulting in less film for more money. Their aim is to reaffirm cinema's artistic value and create works shaped by the principles of film as an art form.
Danish Documentary Wins Think-Film Impact Award
Director Ida Kat Balslev and producer Sidsel Lønvig Siersted won the Think-Film Impact Award for the project ‘My Rebel Heart’. The film was selected for Cannes Docs, where it was pitched among a curated lineup of international projects.
Set amid occupation and war, ‘My Rebel Heart’ follows young actress Yara as she navigates the delicate balance between her artistic ambitions and the fight for Palestinian liberation.
The documentary has received development support from the Danish Film Institute.
Icelandic Dog Wins ‘Palm Dog Award’
On a lighter note, the Icelandic sheepdog Panda was honored with the Palm Dog Award for its performance in the Icelandic-Danish film ‘The Love That Remains’, directed by Hlynur Pálmason.
The Palm Dog Award is an annual prize presented at the Cannes Film Festival to the best canine performance—live or animated—in a film screened at the festival. Founded in 2001 by British journalist and dog enthusiast Toby Rose, the award serves as a humorous counterpart to the Palme d’Or. Over time, the Palm Dog has grown into a beloved and iconic event, bringing together filmmakers, actors, and four-legged stars on the French Riviera.
Danish Co-Productions
In addition to Joachim Trier’s award-winning Norwegian-Danish 'Sentimental Value', Tarik Saleh’s Swedish-Danish 'Eagles of the Republic' was also selected for the main competition. Furthermore, the French-Danish 'The Great Arch', starring Sidse Babett Knudsen and Claes Bang, was selected for Un Certain Regard.
