Lars von Trier | |
---|---|
Trier at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival
|
|
Born |
Lars Trier 30 April 1956 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark |
Nationality | Danish |
Education | National Film School of Denmark, University of Copenhagen |
Occupation | Film director and screenwriter |
Years active | 1977–present |
Notable work |
|
Movement | Hyperrealism, Dogme 95, German Expressionism |
Spouse(s) |
|
Children | Benjamin Trier, Ludvig Trier, Selma Trier, Agnes Trier |
Awards | Palme d'Or, EFA, Cesar, Bodil, Goya, FIPRESCI |
Honours | Unicef Cinema for Peace, Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog |
Lars von Trier (b. Lars Trier, 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He has a prolific and controversial career spanning almost four decades. His work is known for its genre and technical innovation, confrontational examination of existential, social, and political issues, and treatment of subjects like mercy, sacrifice and mental health. His political and humanitarian work was honored in 2004 with the Cinema for Peace awareness award.
Among more than 100 awards and over 200 nominations in festivals worldwide, he has received the Palme d'Or (for Dancer in the Dark), the Grand Prix (for Breaking the Waves), the Prix du Jury (for Europa), and the Technical Grand Prize (for The Element of Crime and Europa) at the Cannes Film Festival. In March 2017, Trier began filming The House that Jack Built, an English-language serial killer thriller.
Lars von Trier is the founder and shareholder of international film production company Zentropa Films, which has sold more than 350 million tickets and garnered seven Academy Award nominations over the past 25 years.
Trier was born in Kongens Lyngby, north of Copenhagen, the son of Inger Høst and Fritz Michael Hartmann (the head of Denmark's Ministry of Social Affairs and a resistance fighter). He received his surname from Høst's husband Ulf Trier, whom he considered his biological father until 1989. The director would later become famous for his honesty to journalists about his complex family and upbringing, as well as the impact it had on his identity, beliefs, and artistic process.