Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Remarkably, just a year later, a Danish film again won Best Foreign Film at the
Academy Awards (as well as the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or):
Pelle the Conqueror
was directed by Bille August and adapted from Martin Andersen Nexø's book about the
harsh life of an immigrant in 19th-century Denmark.
The award fell into Danish hands once again in 2011 with
In a Better World
. Directed
by Susanne Bier, the contemplative drama begins with playground bullying and takes in
infidelity, bereavement, evil warlords and revenge - a plot engineered by Bier to question
the cosy stereotype of her homeland.
Among the trio of films competing to be Denmark's Best Foreign Film contender at the
2015 Academy Awards was director Niels Arden Oplev's offbeat 1970s period flick
Speed
Walking
(2014), featuring
Borgen
actors Sidse Babett Knudsen and Pilou Asbæk.
Directors of Note
Denmark has produced some high-profile directors, many of whom have crossed over
from local Danish-language films to Hollywood productions.
Bille August
Known for his literary adaptations:
Pelle the Conqueror
(1987);
The
House of the Spirits
(1993), based on the novel by Chilean writer Isabel Allende;
Smilla's
Sense of Snow
(1997), from the bestseller by Peter Høeg;
Les Misérables
(1998), adapted
from Victor Hugo's classic tale; and
Night Train to Lisbon
(2013), based on Pascal Merci-
er's philosophical novel.
Susanne Bier
One of Denmark's leading directors, she has made a name for herself in-
ternationally with respected local films
Brothers
(remade into an American production
with the same name),
After the Wedding
(2006),
In a Better World
(2010) and
A Second
Chance
(2014).
Lone Scherfig
Scherfig's romantic comedy
Italian for Beginners
(2000) dealt with di-
verse but damaged Danes learning the language of love, and became an international hit.
She also directed the dark comedy
Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself
(2002), a Danish-Scottish
co-production, as well as the UK films
An Education
(2009) and
The Riot Club
(2014).
Thomas Vinterberg
Co-founder of the Dogme95 movement, Vinterberg conceived,
wrote and directed the first of the Dogme movies,
Festen
(The Celebration; 1998), to wide
acclaim. Although subsequent films flopped,
The Hunt
(2012) won the 2013 Nordic Coun-
cil Film Prize, and was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2014
Academy Awards.
