1. Lars von Trier Born April 30 1956 in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark Recipient of 8 Cannes Palme d'Or nominations and 1 win “I'm afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking”

2. Born Lars Trier to a Communist mother and socialist father who raised him with few rules Added the regal particle “von” to his name while in film school as a joke First feature, The Element of Crime (1984) was highly acclaimed for it's unusual take on film noir, winning Technical Grand Prize at Cannes Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWb81mBw 6XE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWb81mBw 6XE

3. Dogme 95 Along with Thomas Vinterberg, von Trier started the movement to combat excessive artifice in films, creating a vow to use no special effects, nondiegetic music, or even tripods Somewhat tongue-in- cheek Von Trier ended up making just one Dogme film, The Idiots (1998) https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sWaPAQwDS5s https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sWaPAQwDS5s

4. Provocateur Films frequently feature explicit violence, mostly against martyr-like women Declared “persona non grata” at Cannes for comparing self to Hitler- https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=QpUqpLh0iRw https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=QpUqpLh0iRw Multiple films with unsimulated sex scenes Bjork, who receieved a Cannes Best Actress award for Dancer in the Dark (2000) has never made another film since working with von Trier https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=bJyAuAdYm_A https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=bJyAuAdYm_A

5. Golden Heart Trilogy Trio of films with female protagonists attaining grace through brutal treatment Von Trier is often accused of misogyny, but claims he thinks “women are better, more understanding” Breaking the Waves trailer: https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=NmcnddpruXM https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=NmcnddpruXM Breaking the Waves (1996)[pictured] The Idiots (1998) Dancer in the Dark (2000)

6. Dogville and Manderlay Von Trier eschewed sets entirely with this pair of films that condemn moral relativism Actors pantomime opening and closing doors and invisible walls separate scenes https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=CApovMdNxw8 https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=CApovMdNxw8

7. Depression Trilogy Von Trier's three most recent films were written while he suffered from severe depression Feature protagonists with pathological behaviors, alienating those around them After brutal sexual violence and planetary destruction, von Trier promised “no more happy endings!” https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=QxbxsuVCPzU https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=QxbxsuVCPzU All three star Charlotte Gainsbourg, though she plays a supporting role in Melancholia as the sister of Kirsten Dunst's miserable bride

8. Filmography The Orchid Gardener (1977) Images of Liberation (1982) The Element of Crime (1984) [Europa trilogy] Epidemic (1987) [Europa trilogy] Europa (1991) [Europa trilogy] Breaking the Waves (1996) [Golden Heart Trilogy] The Idiots (1998) [Golden Heart Trilogy] Dancer in the Dark (2000)[Palme d'Or] [Golden Heart Trilogy] The Five Obstructions (2003) [co-directed w/ Jorgen Leth] Dogville (2003) [USA trilogy; abandoned] Manderlay (2005) [USA trilogy; abandoned] The Boss of It All (2006)

9. Filmography Antichrist (2009) [Depression trilogy] Melancholia (2011) [Depression trilogy] Nymphomaniac (2013) [Depression trilogy] TV Movies/Miniseries Medea (1988) The Kingdom (1994) The Kingdom II (1997)

10. Sources Used Lumholdt, J. (2003). Lars von Trier: Interviews. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. http://cinetext.philo.at/reports/dogme_ct.html http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/18/lars-von- trier-cannes-2011-nazi-comments http://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/may/13/film.filmn ews http://www.signandsight.com/features/465.html