Dogme 95
Encyclopedia
Dogme 95 was an avant-garde
filmmaking
movement started in 1995 by the Danish
directors Lars von Trier
and Thomas Vinterberg
, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vow of Chastity". These were rules to create filmmaking based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and excluding the use of elaborate special effects or technology. They were later joined by fellow Danish directors Kristian Levring
and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen
, forming the Dogme 95 Collective or the Dogme Brethren. Dogme is the Danish word for dogma
.
The genre gained international appeal partly because of its accessibility. It sparked an interest in unknown filmmakers by suggesting that one can make a recognised film of a quality to gain recognition, without being dependent on commissions or huge Hollywood budgets. The directors used European government subsidies and television station funding instead.
's 1954 essay "Une certaine tendance du cinéma français" in Cahiers du cinéma
.
They announced the Dogme movement on March 22, 1995 in Paris
, at Le cinéma vers son deuxième siècle conference. The cinema world had gathered to celebrate the first century of motion pictures and contemplate the uncertain future of commercial cinema. Called upon to speak about the future of film, Lars von Trier showered a bemused audience with red pamphlets announcing "Dogme 95".
In response to criticism, Von Trier and Vinterberg have both stated that they just wanted to establish a new extreme: "In a business of extremely high budgets, we figured we should balance the dynamic as much as possible."
The first of the Dogme films (Dogme #1) was Vinterberg's 1998 film Festen (The Celebration). It was critically acclaimed and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
that year. Lars von Trier's Dogme film, Idioterne (The Idiots), also premiered at Cannes that year but was less successful. Since the two films were released, other directors have made films based on Dogme principles. French-American actor and director Jean-Marc Barr
was the first non-Dane to direct a Dogme film: Lovers (1999) (Dogme #5). The American
Harmony Korine
's movie Julien Donkey-Boy
(Dogme #6) also was considered a Dogme film.
Het Zuiden (South) (2004), directed by Martin Koolhoven
, included thanks to "Dogme 95". Koolhoven originally planned to shoot it as a Dogme film, and it was co-produced by von Trier's Zentropa
. The director decided he did not want to be so severely constrained as by Dogme principles.
(Festen). With this, he both brought a prop onto the set and used "special lighting." Von Trier used background music (Le Cygne by Camille Saint-Saëns
) in the film The Idiots
(Idioterne).
Since 2002 and the 31st film, a filmmaker no longer needs to have his work verified by the original board to identify it as a Dogme 95 work. The founding "brothers" have begun working on new experimental projects and have been skeptical about the later common interpretation of the Manifesto as a brand or a genre. The movement broke up in 2005. Today, filmmakers submit a form online and check a box which states they "truly believe that the film ... has obeyed all Dogme95 rules as stated in the VOW OF CHASTITY."
maker Jesse Richards
criticizes the movement in his Remodernist Film Manifesto, stating in relation to Point 10, "Remodernist film is not Dogme ’95. We do not have a pretentious checklist that must be followed precisely. This manifesto should be viewed only as a collection of ideas and hints whose author may be mocked and insulted at will." American film critic Armond White
also criticized the movement, stating that it was "the manifesto that brought filmmaking closer to amateur porn". He believed the movement would be rejected as insignificant by film historians.
).
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
movement started in 1995 by the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
directors Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier
Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
and Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg
Thomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vow of Chastity". These were rules to create filmmaking based on the traditional values of story, acting, and theme, and excluding the use of elaborate special effects or technology. They were later joined by fellow Danish directors Kristian Levring
Kristian Levring
Kristian Levring is a Danish director born in 1957. He was the fourth signatory of Dogme95 movement in cinema.-Biography:He lived eight years in France. He graduated in editing at the National Film School of Denmark and has edited a large number of documentaries and feature films besides directing...
and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen
Søren Kragh-Jacobsen is a Danish film director, musician, and song writer. He was one of the founders and practitioners of the Dogme95 project, for creating films without artificial technology or techniques.-Early career:...
, forming the Dogme 95 Collective or the Dogme Brethren. Dogme is the Danish word for dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
.
The genre gained international appeal partly because of its accessibility. It sparked an interest in unknown filmmakers by suggesting that one can make a recognised film of a quality to gain recognition, without being dependent on commissions or huge Hollywood budgets. The directors used European government subsidies and television station funding instead.
History
The friends Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg wrote and co-signed the manifesto and its companion "vows". Vinterberg said that they wrote the pieces in 45 minutes. The manifesto initially mimics the wording of François TruffautFrançois Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
's 1954 essay "Une certaine tendance du cinéma français" in Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
.
They announced the Dogme movement on March 22, 1995 in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, at Le cinéma vers son deuxième siècle conference. The cinema world had gathered to celebrate the first century of motion pictures and contemplate the uncertain future of commercial cinema. Called upon to speak about the future of film, Lars von Trier showered a bemused audience with red pamphlets announcing "Dogme 95".
In response to criticism, Von Trier and Vinterberg have both stated that they just wanted to establish a new extreme: "In a business of extremely high budgets, we figured we should balance the dynamic as much as possible."
The first of the Dogme films (Dogme #1) was Vinterberg's 1998 film Festen (The Celebration). It was critically acclaimed and won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
that year. Lars von Trier's Dogme film, Idioterne (The Idiots), also premiered at Cannes that year but was less successful. Since the two films were released, other directors have made films based on Dogme principles. French-American actor and director Jean-Marc Barr
Jean-Marc Barr
Jean-Marc Barr is a French-American film actor and director. His mother is French. His American father was in the US Air Force and served in the Second World War. Jean-Marc Barr is primarily known as an actor, but is also a film director, screenwriter and producer...
was the first non-Dane to direct a Dogme film: Lovers (1999) (Dogme #5). The American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Harmony Korine
Harmony Korine
The story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
's movie Julien Donkey-Boy
Julien Donkey-Boy
Julien Donkey-Boy is a 1999 independent drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The screenplay concentrates on the schizophrenic Julien, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film also stars Chloe Sevigny as Julien's sister, Pearl, and Werner Herzog as...
(Dogme #6) also was considered a Dogme film.
Het Zuiden (South) (2004), directed by Martin Koolhoven
Martin Koolhoven
Martin Koolhoven is a Dutch film director and screenwriter.Born as Martinus Wouter Koolhoven, Koolhoven graduated from Dutch film school in 1996 and almost immediately made an impact on the Dutch film industry with his 53 minute television film Duister Licht in which the slaughtering of a pig was...
, included thanks to "Dogme 95". Koolhoven originally planned to shoot it as a Dogme film, and it was co-produced by von Trier's Zentropa
Zentropa
Europa is a film directed by Lars von Trier. Released in 1991, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film and is the final film in the Europa trilogy....
. The director decided he did not want to be so severely constrained as by Dogme principles.
Goals and rules
The goal of the Dogme collective is to purify filmmaking by refusing expensive and spectacular special effects, post-production modifications and other technical gimmicks. The filmmakers concentrate on the story and the actors' performances. They believe this approach may better engage the audience, as they are not alienated or distracted by overproduction. To this end, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg produced ten rules to which any Dogme film must conform. These rules, referred to as the "Vow of Chastity," are as follows:- Filming must be done on location. PropsTheatrical propertyA theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
and sets must not be brought in. If a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found. - The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. Music must not be used unless it occurs within the scene being filmed, i.e., diegeticDiegesisDiegesis is a style of representation in fiction and is:# the world in which the situations and events narrated occur; and# telling, recounting, as opposed to showing, enacting.In diegesis the narrator tells the story...
. - The camera must be a hand-held camera. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. The film must not take place where the camera is standing; filming must take place where the action takes place.
- The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable (if there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
- Optical work and filters are forbidden.
- The film must not contain superficial action (murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
- Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden (that is to say that the film takes place here and now).
- Genre movies are not acceptable.
- The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
- The directorFilm directorA film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
must not be credited.
Uses and abuses
The above rules have been both circumvented and broken from the first Dogme film to be produced. For instance, Vinterberg "confessed" to having covered a window during the shooting of one scene in The CelebrationThe Celebration
The Celebration is a 1998 Danish film, produced by Nimbus Film and directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Its original Danish title is Festen , and it was released under this title in the UK....
(Festen). With this, he both brought a prop onto the set and used "special lighting." Von Trier used background music (Le Cygne by Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
) in the film The Idiots
The Idiots
The Idiots is a 1998 Danish film directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme '95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2...
(Idioterne).
Since 2002 and the 31st film, a filmmaker no longer needs to have his work verified by the original board to identify it as a Dogme 95 work. The founding "brothers" have begun working on new experimental projects and have been skeptical about the later common interpretation of the Manifesto as a brand or a genre. The movement broke up in 2005. Today, filmmakers submit a form online and check a box which states they "truly believe that the film ... has obeyed all Dogme95 rules as stated in the VOW OF CHASTITY."
Criticism
Remodernist filmRemodernist Film
Remodernist film developed in the United States and the United Kingdom in the early 21st century with ideas related to those of the international art movement Stuckism and its manifesto, Remodernism...
maker Jesse Richards
Jesse Richards
Jesse Richards is a painter, filmmaker and photographer from New Haven, Connecticut and was affiliated with the international movement Stuckism.-Early life:...
criticizes the movement in his Remodernist Film Manifesto, stating in relation to Point 10, "Remodernist film is not Dogme ’95. We do not have a pretentious checklist that must be followed precisely. This manifesto should be viewed only as a collection of ideas and hints whose author may be mocked and insulted at will." American film critic Armond White
Armond White
Armond White is a New York-based film and music critic known for his provocative and idiosyncratic film criticism, which some have characterized as contrarian. He is currently the editor of City Arts, for which he also writes articles and reviews...
also criticized the movement, stating that it was "the manifesto that brought filmmaking closer to amateur porn". He believed the movement would be rejected as insignificant by film historians.
Notable Dogme films
Complete list is available from the Dogme95 web site (via Internet ArchiveInternet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
).
- Dogme #1: The CelebrationThe CelebrationThe Celebration is a 1998 Danish film, produced by Nimbus Film and directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Its original Danish title is Festen , and it was released under this title in the UK....
- Dogme #2: The IdiotsThe IdiotsThe Idiots is a 1998 Danish film directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme '95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2...
- Dogme #3: Mifune's Last SongMifune's Last SongMifune's Last Song , 1999, is the third film to be made according to the "Dogme 95" group rules. It was directed by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen. The film was a great success in Denmark and an international blockbuster, ranked among the ten best-selling Danish films worldwide.It was produced by Nimbus...
- Dogme #4: The King Is AliveThe King is AliveThe King Is Alive is the fourth film to be done according to the Dogme 95 rules. It is directed by Kristian Levring. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.- Synopsis :...
- Dogme #5: Lovers
- Dogme #6: Julien Donkey-BoyJulien Donkey-BoyJulien Donkey-Boy is a 1999 independent drama film written and directed by Harmony Korine. The screenplay concentrates on the schizophrenic Julien, played by Scottish actor Ewen Bremner, and his dysfunctional family. The film also stars Chloe Sevigny as Julien's sister, Pearl, and Werner Herzog as...
- Dogme #7: Interview
- Dogme #8: FucklandFucklandFuckland is an Argentine comedy-drama film. It was written and directed by José Luis Márques. The picture was executive produced by Diego Dubcovsky, and produced by Edi Flehner and Mariano Suez....
- Dogme #11: Diapason
- Dogme #12: Italian for BeginnersItalian for BeginnersItalian for Beginners is a 2000 Danish romantic comedy film written and directed by Lone Scherfig. The film stars Anders W. Berthelsen, Lars Kaalund and Peter Gantzler. The film was made by the austere principles of the Dogme 95 movement, including the use of hand held video cameras and natural...
- Dogme #13: Amerikana
- Dogme #14: Joy Ride
- Dogme #15: Camera
- Dogme #17: ReunionReunion (2001 film)Reunion , also known as American Reunion, is an American feature film directed by Leif Tilden and Mark Poppi using the filmmaking techniques of Dogme 95 style. It stars Billy Wirth and Jennifer Rubin in a bittersweet tale about 6 former classmates gathering 24 hours before their 20th high school...
aka American Reunion - Dogme #18: Et Rigtigt Menneske
- Dogme #19: Når Nettene Blir Lange (Norway)
- Dogme #20: Strass
- Dogme #21: Kira's Reason: A Love StoryKira's Reason: A Love StoryKira's Reason - A Love Story is a 2001 Danish drama directed by Ole Christian Madsen and written by Madsen and Mogens Rukov. The film stars Stine Stengade in a character study of a young mother who, released after two years a psychiatric ward, struggles to hold her marriage, family and life intact...
- Dogme #22: Era Outra Vez
- Dogme #23: Resin (film)Resin (film)Resin is a 2001 film and the 23rd film produced under the terms and conditions of the Danish film collaborative, Dogme 95. Directed by American film director, Steven Sobel, under the alias Vladamir Gyorski, Resin won the Audience Award at its World Premiere at the Chicago Underground Film Festival...
- Dogme #24: Security, Colorado
- Dogme #25: Converging with Angels
- Dogme #28: Elsker Dig For Evigt (Open Hearts)
- Dogme #29: The Bread Basket
- Dogme #30: Dias de Voda
- Dogme #31: El Desenlace
- Dogme #32: Se til venstre, der er en Svensker
- Dogme #33: Residencia
- Dogme #34: Forbrydelser
- Dogme #35: Così x Caso
- Dogme #37: Gypo (film)Gypo (film)Gypo, is a 2005 independent film written and directed by Jan Dunn. Its story details the breakdown of a family in a small town in Britain, told in three narratives....
- Dogme #38: Mere Players
- Dogme #39: Dört Sıvı: Kan
Notable figures
- Thomas VinterbergThomas VinterbergThomas Vinterberg is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production....
- Lars Von TrierLars von TrierLars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective, although his own films have taken a variety of different approaches, and have frequently received strongly divided critical opinion....
- Søren Kragh-JacobsenSøren Kragh-JacobsenSøren Kragh-Jacobsen is a Danish film director, musician, and song writer. He was one of the founders and practitioners of the Dogme95 project, for creating films without artificial technology or techniques.-Early career:...
- Kristian LevringKristian LevringKristian Levring is a Danish director born in 1957. He was the fourth signatory of Dogme95 movement in cinema.-Biography:He lived eight years in France. He graduated in editing at the National Film School of Denmark and has edited a large number of documentaries and feature films besides directing...
- Jean-Marc BarrJean-Marc BarrJean-Marc Barr is a French-American film actor and director. His mother is French. His American father was in the US Air Force and served in the Second World War. Jean-Marc Barr is primarily known as an actor, but is also a film director, screenwriter and producer...
- Anthony Dod MantleAnthony Dod MantleAnthony Dod Mantle BSC is a British cinematographer notable for his work in digital cinematography.-Career:Dod Mantle directed photography on three Dogme 95 films and the first two episodes of Wallander. He used the Red One digital camera on Wallander, the first British television production to do...
- Paprika SteenPaprika SteenPaprika Steen is a Danish actress and film director best known for her performances in the films Festen, The Idiots and Open Hearts...
- Fran IlichFran IlichFran Ilich is a Mexican writer and media artist who principally works on the theory and practice of narrative media. During the early 1990s he co-founded the Contra-Cultura collective and was involved in the independent media scene in Tijuana -- mainly the cyberpunk scene -- where he was known to...
- Harmony KorineHarmony KorineThe story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
- Susanne BierSusanne BierSusanne Bier is a Danish film director best known for her feature films Brothers, After the Wedding and the Academy-Award-winning In a Better World.-Life and work:Susanne Bier was born to Jewish parents in Copenhagen, Denmark...
- Richard MartiniRichard martiniRichard Martini is an award-winning American film director, producer, screenwriter and free lance journalist. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University with a degree in Humanities, attended USC Film School and is a 2008 graduate of the Master of Professional Writing Program at...
See also
- :Category:Dogme 95 films
- MinimalismMinimalismMinimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
- Realism (arts)Realism (arts)Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
- PluginmanifestoPluginmanifestoThe pluginmanifesto is a document written by Ana Kronschnabl that looks at the challenges for filmmaking for the internet and other reduced bandwidth platforms...
- New PuritansNew PuritansThe New Puritans was a literary movement ascribed to the contributors to a 2000 anthology of short stories entitled All Hail the New Puritans, edited by Nicholas Blincoe and Matt Thorne. The project is said to have been inspired by the Dogme 95 manifesto for cinematic minimalism and authenticity...
- StuckismStuckismStuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
- New SincerityNew SincerityNew sincerity is a term that has been used in music, aesthetics, film criticism, poetry, literary criticism and philosophy, generally to describe art or concepts that run against prevailing modes of postmodernist irony or cynicism.-New sincerity in music:...
- RemodernismRemodernismRemodernism revives aspects of modernism, particularly in its early form, and follows postmodernism, to which it contrasts. Adherents of remodernism advocate it as a forward and radical, not reactionary, impetus....
- Remodernist filmRemodernist FilmRemodernist film developed in the United States and the United Kingdom in the early 21st century with ideas related to those of the international art movement Stuckism and its manifesto, Remodernism...
- Post-postmodernismPost-PostmodernismPost-postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture which are emerging from and reacting to postmodernism.-Periodization:...
External links
- "Interview: Mogens Rukov", Zakka
- Official Nimbus Film Website
- "Lars From 1-10", 10-minute film with reflections by von Trier on Dogme 95, The Perverts Guide
- Dogme 95 by John RobertsJohn RobertsJohn Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist...
, New Left ReviewNew Left ReviewNew Left Review is a 160-page journal, published every two months from London, devoted to world politics, economy and culture. Often compared to the French-language Les Temps modernes, it is associated with Verso Books , and regularly features the essays of authorities on contemporary social...
I/238, November-December 1999