Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier (né Lars Trier; born 30 April 1956) is a Danish film director and screenwriter widely known for his provocative and highly polarizing style. His most notable works include Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998), Dancer in the Dark (2000), Dogville (2003), Antichrist (2009), Melancholia (2011) and Nymphomaniac (2013), as well as The Kingdom miniseries trilogy (1994–2022).

Beginning in the late-1960s as a child actor working on Danish television series Secret Summer, Trier's career has spanned more than five decades. Considered a major figure of the European film industry, he and his works have been variously described as ambitious and provocative, as well as technically innovative. His films offer confrontational examinations of existential, social, psychosexual, and political issues, and deal in subjects including mercy, sacrifice, and mental health. He frequently collaborates with the actors Jens Albinus, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgård.

Trier co-created the filmmaking movement Dogme 95 alongside fellow director Thomas Vinterberg and co-founded the Danish film production company Zentropa, the films from which have sold more than 350 million tickets and garnered eight Academy Award nominations.

Trier has been the subject of criticisms and controversies. Cannes Film Festival, in addition to awarding his films on numerous occasions, once listed him as persona non grata for making a Nazism joke during an interview. Animal harm on Manderlay's set, and graphic violence and unsimulated sex in some of his films have drawn criticism, and he has also been accused of mistreatment and negligence towards actresses during the filming process, including Björk.