Lars von Trier#Expulsion from Cannes

Born Lars Trier in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark, north of Copenhagen, his parents are Inger Høst and Ulf Trier. He later learned from Inger's deathbed that his biological father was {{ill|Fritz Michael Hartmann|da}}, Inger's former boss at Denmark's Ministry of Social Affairs and a World War II resistance fighter.{{cite web |url=http://english.carlthdreyer.dk/aboutdreyer/themes/from-dreyer-to-trier.aspx |title=Carl Th. Dreyer – From Dreyer to von Trier |access-date=24 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629164449/http://english.carlthdreyer.dk/AboutDreyer/Themes/From-Dreyer-to-Trier.aspx |archive-date=29 June 2017 |url-status=dead }}

He studied film theory at the University of Copenhagen and film direction at the National Film School of Denmark.{{cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/film/news/553.html |title=The Tomb: Lars von Trier Interview |work=Time Out |access-date=15 July 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.timeout.com/film/news/553.html |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=live }} At 25, he won two Best School Film awards at the Munich International Festival of Film Schools{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voTOt3GaRJAC&pg=PA72 |title=Lars von Trier: interviews |last=Lumholdt |first=Jan |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-57806-532-5 |page=72 |quote=Nocturne was the more important of the two and it also won a prize at the film festival in Munich |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=5 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605003508/http://books.google.com/books?id=voTOt3GaRJAC&pg=PA72 |url-status=live }} for Nocturne and Last Detail.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8khh4m7c-4C |title=Variety International Film Guide 1996 |last=Cowie |first=Peter |date=15 June 1995 |publisher=Focal |isbn=978-0-240-80253-4 |page=40 |quote=...he won two consecutive awards at the European Film School competition in Munich with Nocturne and The Last Detail |author-link=Peter Cowie |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604003836/http://books.google.com/books?id=m8khh4m7c-4C |url-status=live }} The same year, he added the nobiliary particle "von" to his name, possibly as a satirical homage to the equally self-invented titles of directors Erich von Stroheim and Josef von Sternberg,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJFZAAAAMAAJ |title=Digital Babylon: Hollywood, Indiewood & Dogme 95 |last=Roman |first=Shari |date=15 September 2001 |publisher=IFILM |isbn=978-1-58065-036-6 |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=6 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606024444/http://books.google.com/books?id=UJFZAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} and saw his graduation film Images of Liberation released as a theatrical feature.{{cite web |url=http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/nationalfilmografien/nffilm.aspx?id=21 |title=Befrielsesbilleder |work=Nationalfilmografien |publisher=Danish Film Institute |language=da |access-date=5 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/nationalfilmografien/nffilm.aspx?id=21 |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=live }}

In 1984, The Element of Crime, von Trier's breakthrough film, received twelve awards at seven international festivals{{Citation |last=Trier |first=Lars von |title=The Element of Crime |date=14 May 1984 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087280/awards |access-date=25 July 2016 |archive-date=31 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031015608/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087280/awards |url-status=live }} including the Technical Grand Prize at Cannes, and a nomination for the Palme d'Or.{{cite web |url=http://www.screendaily.com/news/von-trier-welcome-back-at-cannes/5054055.article |title=Lars von Trier welcome back at Cannes Film Festival |date=19 April 2013 |work=Screen Daily |publisher=Media Business Insight Limited |access-date=18 December 2013 |author=Melanie Goodfellow, Andreas Wiseman |archive-date=19 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219012744/http://www.screendaily.com/news/von-trier-welcome-back-at-cannes/5054055.article |url-status=live }} The film's slow, non-linear pace,{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZDFAgAAQBAJ |title=Politics as Form in Lars von Trier: A Post-Brechtian Reading |last=Koutsourakis |first=Angelos |date=24 October 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-62356-027-0 }} innovative and multi-leveled plot design, and dark dreamlike visual effects{{Failed verification|date=January 2017}} combine to create an allegory for traumatic European historical events.{{cite web |url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/83-the-element-of-crime |title=The Element of Crime |access-date=25 July 2016 |archive-date=8 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808181104/https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/83-the-element-of-crime |url-status=live }}

Von Trier's next film, Epidemic (1987), was also shown at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, and featured two story lines that ultimately collide: the chronicle of two filmmakers (played by von{{nbsp}}Trier and screenwriter Niels Vørse) in the midst of developing a new project, and a dark science fiction tale of a futuristic plague{{snd}}the very film von Trier and Vørsel are depicted making.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} He next directed Medea (1988) for television, based on a screenplay by Carl Th. Dreyer and starring Udo Kier, which won the Jean d'Arcy prize in France.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

Von Trier has referred to his films as falling into thematic and stylistic trilogies. This pattern began with The Element of Crime (1984), the first of the Europa trilogy, which illuminated traumatic periods in Europe both in the past and the future. It also includes Epidemic. He completed the trilogy in 1991 with Europa (released as Zentropa in the US), which won the Prix du{{nbsp}}Jury at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival,{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/91/year/1991.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Europa |access-date=9 August 2009 |publisher=festival-cannes.com |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/91/year/1991.html |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=live }} and picked up awards at other major festivals. In 1990 he also directed the music video for the song "Bakerman" by Laid Back.{{cite book |last=Schepelern |first=Peter |title=Lars von Triers film: tvang og befrielse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXlZAAAAMAAJ |access-date=11 October 2010 |year=2000 |publisher=Rosinante |language=da |isbn=978-87-621-0164-7 |page=313}} This video was re-used in 2006 by the English DJ and artist Shaun Baker in his remake of the song.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

Seeking financial independence and creative control over their projects, in 1992 von{{nbsp}}Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen founded the film production company Zentropa Entertainment, which has sold more than 350 million tickets and was nominated for multiple Academy Awards as of 2016. Named after a fictional railway company in Europa, their most recent film at the time, Zentropa has produced many movies other than Trier's own, as well as several television series.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} It has also produced hardcore sex films: Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999), HotMen CoolBoyz (2000), and All About Anna (2005).{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} To make money for his newly founded company, von{{nbsp}}Trier made The Kingdom (Danish title Riget, 1994) and The Kingdom{{nbsp}}II (Riget{{nbsp}}II, 1997), a pair of miniseries recorded in the Danish national hospital, the name "Riget" being a colloquial name for the hospital known as Rigshospitalet (lit. The Kingdom's Hospital) in Danish.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} A projected third season of the series was derailed by the death in 1998 of Ernst-Hugo Järegård, who played Dr. Helmer, and that of Kirsten Rolffes, who played Mrs. Drusse, in 2000, two of the major characters, which led to the series' cancellation.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

File:Dogme28.jpg Certificate for Susanne Bier's film Open Hearts]]

In 1995, von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg presented their manifesto for a new cinematic movement, which they called Dogme 95. The Dogme{{nbsp}}95 concept, which led to international interest in Danish film, inspired filmmakers all over the world. It required filmmakers to shirk several common techniques in modern filmmaking, such as studio lighting, sets, costumes, and non-diegetic music.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qOXoeyesZOIC&pg=PA37 |title=Contemporary world cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia |last=Chaudhuri |first=Shohini |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7486-1799-9 |page=37 |quote=The Dogme concept has, moreover, spilled across national borders and inspired filmmaking outside Denmark. |access-date=12 October 2010}} In 2008, together with their fellow Dogme directors Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, von{{nbsp}}Trier and Thomas Vinterberg received the European film award for European Achievement in World Cinema.{{Cite web |title=Archive - European Film Awards - EFA Night 2008 |url=https://europeanfilmawards.eu/en_EN/archive/2008/winner |access-date=2024-02-26 |website=europeanfilmawards.eu}}

In 1996 von Trier conducted an unusual theatrical experiment in Copenhagen involving 53 actors, which he titled Psychomobile{{nbsp}}1: The World Clock.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} A documentary chronicling the project was directed by Jesper Jargil, and was released in 2000 with the title De Udstillede (The Exhibited).{{Cite web |title=The Exhibited |url=https://www.dfi.dk/en/viden-om-film/filmdatabasen/film/de-udstillede |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=www.dfi.dk |language=en}}

Von Trier achieved international success with his Golden Heart trilogy. Each film in the trilogy is about naive heroines who maintain their "golden hearts" despite the tragedies they experience. This trilogy consists of Breaking the Waves (1996), The Idiots (1998), and Dancer in the Dark (2000).[http://www.andsoitbeginsfilms.com/2013/06/top-10-unconventional-trilogies.html Unconventional Trilogies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101112159/http://www.andsoitbeginsfilms.com/2013/06/top-10-unconventional-trilogies.html |date=1 November 2014 }}, dated June 2013, at andsoitbeginsfilms.com While all three films are sometimes associated with the Dogme 95 movement, The Idiots was the only one to meet all the necessary criteria to be "certified" as such.{{according to whom|date = March 2023}}

Breaking the Waves won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and featured Emily Watson, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.{{Cite news |last=Riding |first=Alan |date=16 March 1997 |title=On Cusp of Fame, But Not At Home |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/16/movies/on-cusp-of-fame-but-not-at-home.html |work=New York Times |page=13, Section 2}} Its grainy images, and hand-held photography, pointed towards Dogme{{nbsp}}95 but violated several of the manifesto's rules.{{according to whom|date = March 2023}} The second film in the trilogy, The Idiots, was nominated for a Palme d'Or, with which he was presented in person at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, despite his dislike of traveling.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} In 2000, von Trier premiered Dancer in the Dark, a musical featuring Icelandic musician Björk, which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/5140/year/2000.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Dancer in the Dark |access-date=11 October 2009 |publisher=festival-cannes.com |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/5140/year/2000.html |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=dead}} The song "I've Seen It All" (co-written by von{{nbsp}}Trier) received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.{{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=109459&page=1 | title=Dylan, Björk, Sting Get First Oscar Nods | website=ABC News }}}

File:Oliver Mark - Lars von Trier, Copenhagen 2003.jpg, Copenhagen 2003]]

The Five Obstructions (2003), made by von{{nbsp}}Trier and Jørgen Leth, is a documentary that incorporates lengthy sections of experimental films. The premise is that von{{nbsp}}Trier challenges Leth, his friend and mentor, to remake his 1967 experimental short The Perfect Human five times, each time with a different obstacle.{{cite news |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C02E4D6143EF935A15756C0A9629C8B63 |title=The Five Obstructions (2003) | FILM REVIEW; A Cinematic Duel of Wits For Two Danish Directors |work=The New York Times |date=26 May 2004 |access-date=12 October 2010 |first=A. O. |last=Scott |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C02E4D6143EF935A15756C0A9629C8B63 |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=live}}

His next proposed trilogy, Land of Opportunities, consists of Dogville (2003), Manderlay (2005), and the unmade {{not a typo|Washington}}.{{cite web|last=Newman|first=Nick|url=https://thefilmstage.com/im-made-to-tell-stories-anthony-dod-mantle-on-lars-von-trier-danny-boyle-and-a-cinematographers-life/|title="I'm Made to Tell Stories": Anthony Dod Mantle on Lars von Trier, Danny Boyle, and a Cinematographer's Life|date=December 19, 2023|work=The Film Stage}} The first two installments were shot with the same distinctive, extremely stylized approach, with the actors performing on a bare sound stage with no decoration, buildings' walls marked by chalk lines on the floor, a style inspired by 1970s televised theatre. Dogville starred Nicole Kidman as Grace Margaret Mulligan, a role taken by Bryce Dallas Howard for Manderlay.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} Both films feature an ensemble cast including Harriet Andersson, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Danny Glover, and Willem Dafoe. The films question various issues relating to American society, such as intolerance and slavery.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

In 2006, von Trier released the Danish-language comedy film, The Boss of It All, which was shot using an experimental process he named Automavision, involving the director choosing the best possible fixed camera position, then allowing a computer to randomly choose when to tilt, pan, or zoom.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} He followed this with an autobiographical film, The Early Years: Erik Nietzsche Part 1 in 2007, which von Trier wrote and Jacob Thuesen directed, a film that tells the story of von{{nbsp}}Trier's years as a student at the National Film School of Denmark.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} It stars Jonatan Spang as von{{nbsp}}Trier's alter ego, called "Erik Nietzsche", and is narrated by von{{nbsp}}Trier himself, with all main characters being based on real people from the Danish film industry.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}} The thinly veiled portrayals include Jens Albinus as director Nils Malmros, Dejan Čukić as screenwriter Mogens Rukov, and Søren Pilmark.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

The Depression trilogy consists of Antichrist, Melancholia, and Nymphomaniac. The three films star Charlotte Gainsbourg, and deal with characters who suffer depression or grief in different ways. This trilogy is said to represent the depression that Trier himself experiences.{{cite web |url=http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/03/20/nyphomaniac-volumes-i-and-ii-reviewed-lars-von-triers-sexually-graphic-pairing-will-titillate-but-fails-to-satisfy/ |title=Nyphomaniac, Volumes I and II, reviewed: Lars von Trier's sexually graphic pairing will titillate, but fails to satisfy |last=Knight |first=Chris |date=20 March 2014 |work=National Post |access-date=15 August 2014 |archive-date=23 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223132752/http://arts.nationalpost.com/2014/03/20/nyphomaniac-volumes-i-and-ii-reviewed-lars-von-triers-sexually-graphic-pairing-will-titillate-but-fails-to-satisfy/ |url-status=live }}

Antichrist follows "a grieving couple who retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping a return to Eden will repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage; but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse".{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/AntichristHD |title=Antichrist HD : Kyle Kallgren : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive |date=15 February 2018 |access-date=21 September 2018}} The film stars Willem Dafoe and Gainsbourg. It premiered in competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where the festival's jury honoured the movie by giving the Best Actress award to Gainsbourg.{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0525/1224247325203.html?digest=1 |title=Cannes jury gives its heart to works of graphic darkness |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=5 May 2009 |access-date=15 July 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0525/1224247325203.html?digest=1 |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=live}}

Melancholia, released in 2011, is an apocalyptic drama about two depressive sisters played by Kirsten Dunst and Gainsbourg, the former of whom marries just before a rogue planet is about to collide with Earth.{{Citation |title=Brows Held High: Melancholia Part 2 | date=24 April 2016 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHXjNGzPbS4 |language=en |access-date=2023-01-18}} The film was in competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Actress award for Dunst.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/58041.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Official Selection |access-date=14 April 2011 |work=Cannes |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/58041.html |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=dead}}

Following Melancholia, von Trier began the production of Nymphomaniac, a film about the sexual awakening of a woman played by Gainsbourg.{{cite web |url=http://www.slashfilm.com/lars-von-trier-the-nymphomaniac/ |title=Lars von Trier to Make 'The Nymphomaniac' Next? |last=Pham |first=Andrias |date=24 March 2011 |work=Slashfilm |access-date=24 March 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918/http://www.slashfilm.com/lars-von-trier-the-nymphomaniac/ |archive-date=18 September 2012 |url-status=live }} In early December 2013, a four-hour version was shown to the press in a private preview session. The cast also included Stellan Skarsgård (in his sixth film for von Trier), Shia LaBeouf, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater, and Uma Thurman. In response to claims that he had merely created a "porn film", Skarsgård stated "... if you look at this film, it's actually a really bad porn movie, even if you fast forward. And after a while you find you don't even react to the explicit scenes. They become as natural as seeing someone eating a bowl of cereal."{{quote without source|date = March 2023}} For its public release in the United Kingdom, the film was divided into two volumes.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}} The film premiered in the UK on 22{{nbsp}}February 2014.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

In interviews prior to the film's release, Gainsbourg and co-star Stacy Martin revealed that prosthetic vaginas, body doubles, and special effects were used for the production of the film. Martin also stated that the film's characters were a reflection of the director himself, and referred to the experience as an "honour" that she enjoyed.{{cite news |title=Nymphomaniac star Charlotte Gainsbourg: 'The sex wasn't hard. The masochistic scenes were embarrassing' – video interview |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2014/feb/20/nymphomaniac-charlotte-gainsbourg-sex-video-interview |access-date=21 February 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 February 2014 |first1=Xan |last1=Brooks |first2=Henry |last2=Barnes |format=Video upload |archive-date=21 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221071346/http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2014/feb/20/nymphomaniac-charlotte-gainsbourg-sex-video-interview |url-status=live }} The film was also released in two "volumes" for the Australian release on 20 March 2014, with an interval separating the back-to-back sections. In February 2014, an uncensored version of Volume I was shown at the Berlin Film Festival, with no announcement of when or if the complete five-and-a-half-hour Nymphomaniac would be made available to the public.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/nymphomaniac-vol-1-bigger-longer-and-uncut-1201094720/ |title='Nymphomaniac Vol. 1' Review: Bigger, Longer and Uncut |first=Scott |last=Foundas |date=9 February 2014 |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=26 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926235606/http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/nymphomaniac-vol-1-bigger-longer-and-uncut-1201094720/ |url-status=live }} The complete version premiered at the 2014 Venice Film Festival and was shortly afterward released in a limited theatrical run worldwide that fall.{{citation needed|date = March 2023}}

In 2015, von Trier began work on a new feature film, The House That Jack Built, which was originally planned as an eight-part television series. The story is about a serial killer, seen from the murderer's point of view. It starred Matt Dillon in the title role, alongside Bruno Ganz, Riley Keough and Sofie Gråbøl.{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/Lars.von.Trier/videos/10154613889459922/ |title=Lars von Trier |website=www.facebook.com |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104020846/https://www.facebook.com/Lars.von.Trier/videos/10154613889459922/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=289859 |title=Lars von Trier back at work on The House That Jack Built |first=Jorn Rossing |last=Jensen |date=17 April 2015 |publisher=Cineuropa |access-date=23 January 2016 |archive-date=23 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223040156/http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=289859 |url-status=live}} Shooting started in March 2017 in Sweden, before moving to Copenhagen in May.

In February 2017, von Trier explained that the film "celebrates the idea that life is evil and soulless, which is sadly proven by the recent rise of the Homo trumpus – the rat king".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/14/lars-von-trier-donald-trump-the-house-that-jack-built |title=Lars von Trier inspired by Donald Trump for new serial-killer film |last=Shoard |first=Catherine |newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 February 2017 |access-date=3 March 2017 |archive-date=8 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308174038/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/14/lars-von-trier-donald-trump-the-house-that-jack-built |url-status=live }} The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018.{{cite web |last1=Kermode |first1=Mark |last2=critic |first2=Observer film |title=The House That Jack Built review – a killer with room for improvement |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/16/the-house-that-jack-built-review-lars-von-trier-matt-dillon-uma-thurman-sofie-grabol |website=The Guardian |access-date=16 March 2020 |date=16 December 2018 |archive-date=16 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516173834/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/16/the-house-that-jack-built-review-lars-von-trier-matt-dillon-uma-thurman-sofie-grabol |url-status=live}} Despite more than a hundred walkouts by audience members, the film still received a 10-minute standing ovation.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/the-house-that-jack-built-first-reactions-lars-von-trier-cannes-1201963300/|title=The House That Jack Built First Reactions: von Trier Inspires Walkouts|author=Marotta, Jenna|date=14 May 2018|access-date=20 January 2019|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410111625/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/the-house-that-jack-built-first-reactions-lars-von-trier-cannes-1201963300/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/17/lars-von-trier-cannes-walkouts-the-house-that-jack-built |title=Lars von Trier on Cannes walkouts: 'I'm not sure they hated my film enough' |date=17 May 2018 |author= Shoard, Catherine |website=TheGuardian.com |access-date=21 December 2018 |archive-date=21 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221041541/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/17/lars-von-trier-cannes-walkouts-the-house-that-jack-built |url-status=live}}

After the release of The House That Jack Built, von Trier planned to produce Études, an anthology film consisting of ten black and white segments, each ten minutes long, inspired by the musical form; though it never came to fruition{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2018-04-16 |title=Lars von Trier Plans to Direct 10 Short Films After 'House That Jack Built' Left Him With Terrible Anxiety |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/04/lars-von-trier-short-films-etudes-house-that-jack-built-1201953115/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=IndieWire |language=en}} In December 2020, it was announced he would produce a belated third and final season of The Kingdom, titled The Kingdom Exodus, with Søren Pilmark returning as Jørgen 'Hook' Krogshøj, Ghita Nørby as Rigmor Mortensen, alongside a new cast including Mikael Persbrandt as Dr. Helmer, Jr. It was shot in 2021, consisting of five episodes released in November 2022.{{Cite web|url=https://theplaylist.net/lars-von-trier-the-kingdom-season-3-20201220/|title='The Kingdom': Lars Von Trier Returns To His Cult '90s Series With Third Season|website=theplaylist.net|date=20 December 2020 |access-date=31 December 2020|archive-date=20 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220145337/https://theplaylist.net/lars-von-trier-the-kingdom-season-3-20201220/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXWcl6OuVw8|title=Lars von Trier: The Burden From Donald Duck | Louisiana Channel|date=24 December 2020 |via=www.youtube.com|access-date=31 December 2020|archive-date=10 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110153446/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXWcl6OuVw8&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}} The miniseries premiered out of competition at the Venice Film Festival as a five-hour feature-length film. It received mixed reviews from critics.{{Cite web |last=Sondermann |first=Selina |title=Venice Film Festival 2022: The Kingdom: Exodus (Riget: Exodus) {{!}} Review |url=https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2022/09/05/venice-film-festival-2022-the-kingdom-exodus-riget-exodus-review/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=The Upcoming|date=5 September 2022 }}

In 2024, von Trier announced he was working on a new film titled After which will benefit from funding from the Danish Film Institute. Stellan Skarsgård was cast as the film's lead.{{Cite web |last=Scanu |first=John |date=2024-09-18 |title=Lars von Trier, the Danish director's next film will be titled "After" |url=https://www.unionesarda.it/en/lars-von-trier-the-danish-director39-s-next-film-will-be-titled-quot-afterquot-pdhy1drd |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=L'Unione Sarda English |language=en}} Filming is expected to begin in summer 2025, with von Trier's health conditions reflected in the plot of the film.https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lars-von-trier-david-lynch-gaspar-noe-b2706607.html

Von Trier's films deal with themes of religious imagery and his treatment of subjects such as mercy, sacrifice, and mental health, confrontational examination of existential, social, and political issues. Most of the films depicted in various forms of politics and religions, such as Nazism in Europa, Christianity in Breaking the Waves and The House that Jack Built, Atheism in Dogville, and Anti-bourgeois in The Idiots.

Von Trier is heavily influenced by the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHJZAAAAMAAJ |title=Lars von Trier |last=Stevenson |first=Jack |publisher=British Film Institute |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-85170-902-4 |page=23 |quote=During work on a TV adaptation of the never-filmed Dreyer script, Medea, in 1988, von Trier claimed to have a telepathic connection with him. He even claimed his golden retriever, Kajsa, was also in spiritual contact with Dreyer ... |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=5 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605005113/http://books.google.com/books?id=UHJZAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }} and the film The Night Porter.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b9iP9OWEqncC&pg=PA195 |title=Alien sex: the body and desire in cinema and theology |last=Loughlin |first=Gerard |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-631-21180-8 |page=195 |author-link=Gerard Loughlin |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604110910/http://books.google.com/books?id=b9iP9OWEqncC&pg=PA195 |url-status=live}} He was so inspired by the short film The Perfect Human, directed by Jørgen Leth, that he challenged Leth to redo the short five times in the feature film The Five Obstructions.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hev6YYxFpYgC |title=The Routledge companion to philosophy and film |last2=Plantinga |first2=Carl R. |date=3 December 2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77166-5 |pages=631–40 |chapter=58 |last1=Livingston |first1=Paisley |first3=Mette |last3=Hjort |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604020549/http://books.google.com/books?id=hev6YYxFpYgC |url-status=live}}

Von Trier's writing style has been heavily influenced by his work with actors on set, as well as the Dogme 95 manifesto that he co-authored.{{cite web |url=https://creativescreenwriting.com/my-films-are-a-little-dark-right-lars-von-trier/ |title='My films are a little dark, right?' Lars von Trier |last=Taylor |first=Elayne |date=2001 |website=Creative Screenwriting |access-date=18 December 2018 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219044557/https://creativescreenwriting.com/my-films-are-a-little-dark-right-lars-von-trier/ |url-status=live}} In an interview with Creative Screenwriting, he described his process as "writing a sketch and keep[ing] the story simple...then part of the script work is with the actors." He again cites Dreyer as an influence, pointing to his method of overwriting his scripts, then significantly cutting the length down. Reflecting on the storytelling across his body of work, von Trier said, "all the stories are about a realist who comes into conflict with life. I'm not crazy about real life, and real life is not crazy about me."

Von Trier has said that "a film should be like a stone in your shoe".{{cite news |last1=Bell |first1=Emma |title=Lars von Trier: Anti-American? Me? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lars-von-trier-anti-american-me-321010.html |access-date=22 December 2018 |work=The Independent |date=21 October 2005 |archive-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222183142/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/lars-von-trier-anti-american-me-321010.html |url-status=live}} To create original art he feels that filmmakers must distinguish themselves stylistically from other films, often by placing restrictions on the film making process. The most famous such restriction is the cinematic "vow of chastity" of the Dogme 95 movement. In Dancer in the Dark, he used jump shots{{cite book |last=Hurbis-Cherrier |first=Mick |title=Voice & vision: a creative approach to narrative film and DV production |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X_ZIihJ_WpMC&pg=PA82 |access-date=11 October 2010 |date=13 March 2007 |publisher=Focal Press |isbn=978-0-240-80773-7 |page=82 |quote=Lars von Trier uses jump cuts as an aesthetic device throughout Dancer in the Dark |archive-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604014146/http://books.google.com/books?id=X_ZIihJ_WpMC&pg=PA82 |url-status=live }} and dramatically different color palettes and camera techniques for the "real world" and musical portions of the film,.{{Cite journal |last=Rudolph |first=Pascal |date=2020-11-15 |title=Björk on the Gallows: Performance, Persona, and Authenticity in Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark |url=https://iaspmjournal.net/index.php/IASPM_Journal/article/view/993 |journal=IASPM Journal |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=22–42 |doi=10.5429/2079-3871(2020)v10i1.3en |s2cid=228960719 |issn=2079-3871|doi-access=free}}

Von Trier often shoots digitally and operates the camera himself, preferring to continuously shoot the actors in-character without stopping between takes. In Dogville, because there were no walls between the "buildings" on the set, actors needed to stay in character for hours, even when not part of the scene being filmed.{{cite book |last1=Lumholdt |first1=Jan |title=Lars von Trier: Interviews |date=2003 |publisher=University of Mississippi |page=212}} These techniques often put great strain on the actors, most famously with Björk during the filming of Dancer in the Dark.{{cite web |url=https://theplaylist.net/bjork-sexual-harassment-danish-director-20171017/ |title=Björk further details 'paralyzing' sexual harassment from Lars von Trier |last=Jagernauth |first=Kevin |date=17 October 2017 |website=The Playlist |access-date=21 March 2019 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320201348/https://theplaylist.net/bjork-sexual-harassment-danish-director-20171017/ |url-status=live}}

Von Trier would later return to explicit images in Antichrist (2009), exploring darker themes, but he ran into problems when he tried once more with Nymphomaniac, which had 90 minutes cut out (reducing it from five-and-one-half to four hours) for its international release in 2013 in order to be commercially viable,{{cite web |url=http://www.dfi-film.dk/nymphomaniac-long |title=DFI-FILM – Stensgaard & von Trier |website=www.dfi-film.dk |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=10 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210110043/http://www.dfi-film.dk/nymphomaniac-long |url-status=live }} taking nearly a year to be shown complete anywhere in an uncensored director's cut.{{cite web |url=http://www.kino.dk/film/n/ny/nymphomaniac-directors-cut |title=Nymphomaniac: Director's cut |date=21 August 2014 |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=9 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709234726/http://www.kino.dk/film/n/ny/nymphomaniac-directors-cut |url-status=live}}

While Lars von Trier commissioned new musical compositions for his early films, his more recent work has made use of existing music.{{Cite book |last=Rudolph |first=Pascal |url=https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/9783967077582/praeexistente-musik-im-film?page=1 |title=Präexistente Musik im Film |date=2022-10-14 |publisher=edition text + kritik im Richard Boorberg Verlag |isbn=978-3-96707-757-5 |pages=45 |language=de |doi=10.5771/9783967077582|s2cid=253055339 }} With Nymphomaniac, the principle of musical eclecticism is also applied within the film. He often heavily edits compositions to manipulate and provoke the audience.{{Cite journal |last=Rudolph |first=Pascal |date=2023 |title=The Musical Idea Work Group: Production and Reception of Pre-existing Music in Film |journal=Twentieth-Century Music |volume=20 |issue=2 |language=en |pages=136–156 |doi=10.1017/S1478572222000214 |s2cid=252138641 |issn=1478-5722|doi-access=free}}

In an interview for IndieWire, von Trier compared his approach to actors with "how a chef would work with a potato or a piece of meat", clarifying that working with actors has differed on each film based on the production conditions.{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2009/10/lars-von-trier-i-think-working-with-actors-is-a-little-bit-how-a-chef-would-work-with-a-potato-246359/ |title=Lars von Trier: "I think working with actors is a little bit how a chef would work with a potato…" - IndieWire |first=Brian |last=Brooks |website=www.indiewire.com |date=20 October 2009 |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=24 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824012453/http://www.indiewire.com/2009/10/lars-von-trier-i-think-working-with-actors-is-a-little-bit-how-a-chef-would-work-with-a-potato-246359/ |url-status=live}} He has occasionally courted controversy by his treatment of his lead actresses.{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/11/06/142026288/lars-von-trier-a-problematic-sort-of-ladies-man |title=Lars Von Trier: A Problematic Sort Of Ladies' Man? |website=NPR.org |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=26 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170426063617/http://www.npr.org/2011/11/06/142026288/lars-von-trier-a-problematic-sort-of-ladies-man |url-status=live }} He and Björk famously fell out during the shooting of Dancer in the Dark, to the point where she would abscond from filming for days at a time.{{cite web |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a818243/movie-feuds-bruce-willis-megan-fox/ |title=The 8 most notorious feuds between stars and their directors |last=Fletcher |first=Rosie |publisher=Hearst Magazines UK |date=6 June 2018 |website=digitalspy.com |access-date=21 March 2019 |archive-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320202059/https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a818243/movie-feuds-bruce-willis-megan-fox/ |url-status=live }} She stated of von Trier, who shattered a monitor while it was next to her, that "you can take quite sexist film directors like Woody Allen or Stanley Kubrick and still they are the one that provide the soul to their movies. In Lars von Trier's case it is not so and he knows it. He needs a female to provide his work soul. And he envies them and hates them for it. So he has to destroy them during the filming. And hide the evidence."

Nicole Kidman, who starred in von Trier's Dogville, said in an interview with ABC Radio National that she tried to quit the film several times in response to comments von Trier made on set, often while inebriated, "but I say this laughing...I didn't do the sequel but I'm still very good friends with him, strangely enough, because I admire his honesty and I see him as an artist, and I say, my gosh, it's such a hard world now to have a unique voice, and he certainly has that."{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/invalid/movietime/interview-with-nicole-kidman-actor-margot-at-the/3292346|title=Interview with Nicole Kidman, actor, 'Margot At The Wedding'|date=2 November 2006|website=ABC Radio National|access-date=8 December 2021|archive-date=8 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208183623/https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/invalid/movietime/interview-with-nicole-kidman-actor-margot-at-the/3292346|url-status=live}}

However, other actresses he has worked with, such as Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg have spoken out in defence of his approach.{{cite web |url=https://www.gq.com/story/lars-von-trier-gq-interview-bjork-john-c-reilly-kirsten-dunst-nicole-kidman-extras/ |title=Lars von Trier Interview GQ October 2011 |first=Chris |last=Heath |date=17 October 2011 |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=7 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507230543/http://www.gq.com/story/lars-von-trier-gq-interview-bjork-john-c-reilly-kirsten-dunst-nicole-kidman-extras |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2014/01/28/charlotte-gainsbourg-je-suis-prete-a-excuser-beaucoup-chez-lars_4355449_3246.html |title=Charlotte Gainsbourg : " Je suis prête à excuser beaucoup chez Lars " |first=Isabelle |last=Regnier |newspaper=Le Monde.fr |date=28 January 2014 |via=Le Monde |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=16 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016230040/http://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2014/01/28/charlotte-gainsbourg-je-suis-prete-a-excuser-beaucoup-chez-lars_4355449_3246.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2014/03/charlotte-gainsbourg-on-being-lars-von-triers-nymphomaniac-i-was-disturbed-embarrassed-and-a-little-humiliated-28659/ |title=Charlotte Gainsbourg On Being Lars von Trier's 'Nymphomaniac': 'I was disturbed, embarrassed and a little humiliated…' - IndieWire |first=Boyd van |last=Hoeij |website=www.indiewire.com |date=25 March 2014 |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=5 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005212134/http://www.indiewire.com/2014/03/charlotte-gainsbourg-on-being-lars-von-triers-nymphomaniac-i-was-disturbed-embarrassed-and-a-little-humiliated-28659/ |url-status=live }} Nymphomaniac star Stacy Martin has stated that he never forced her to do anything that was outside her comfort zone. She said "I don't think he's a misogynist. The fact that he sometimes depicts women as troubled or dangerous or dark or even evil; that doesn't automatically make him anti-feminist. It's a very dated argument. I think that Lars loves women."{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/06/nymphomaniac-charlotte-gainsbourg-stacy-martin-lars-von-trier |title=Nymphomaniac stars: 'Lars isn't a misogynist, he loves women' |first=Xan |last=Brooks |newspaper=The Guardian |date=6 February 2014 |via=www.theguardian.com |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=16 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016225808/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/06/nymphomaniac-charlotte-gainsbourg-stacy-martin-lars-von-trier |url-status=live }}

File:Fritz Michael Hartmann.gif

In 1989, von Trier's mother confessed to him on her deathbed that his biological father was not the man who raised him, but her former employer, {{ill|Fritz Michael Hartmann|da}} (1909–2000),{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9kpAQAAIAAJ |title=Medien Wissenschaft |date=2004 |publisher=Niemeyer |page=112 |language=de |author1=Philipps-Universität Marburg |author2=Universität-Gesamthochschule-Siegen |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=4 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604003753/http://books.google.com/books?id=f9kpAQAAIAAJ |url-status=live }} who was descended from a long line of Danish classical musicians. Hartmann's grandfather was Emil Hartmann, and his great-grandfather J. P. E. Hartmann. His uncles included Niels Gade and Johan Ernst Hartmann, and Niels Viggo Bentzon was his cousin. She stated that she did this to give her son "artistic genes".{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRpxLdn7C4EC&pg=PA124 |title=Visual authorship: creativity and intentionality in media |last2=Laursen |first2=Iben Thorving |publisher=Museum Tusculanum Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-87-635-0128-6 |page=124 |last1=Grodal |first1=Torben Kragh |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=5 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605005625/http://books.google.com/books?id=qRpxLdn7C4EC&pg=PA124 |url-status=live }} Von Trier has jokingly said, by reference to the distant German origin of the Hartmann family, that while he believed he had a Jewish background, he is "really more of a Nazi."{{cite news |url=http://www.signandsight.com/features/465.html |title=Lars von Trier, Katja Nicodemus: 'I am an American woman' (17/11/2005) – signandsight |last=Nicodemus |first=Katja |date=10 November 2005 |work=Die Zeit |access-date=14 October 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910/http://www.signandsight.com/features/465.html |archive-date=10 September 2012 |url-status=live}}

During the German occupation of Denmark, Hartmann in fact joined a resistance group, actively counteracting any pro-German and pro-Nazi colleagues in his civil service department.{{cite web |url=http://modstand.natmus.dk/Person.aspx?43138 |title=Entry on Fritz Michael Hartmann in the Database of the Danish Resistance Movement |language=da |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120526/http://modstand.natmus.dk/Person.aspx?43138 |archive-date=26 May 2012 |url-status=live }} Another member of this resistance group was Hartmann's colleague Viggo Kampmann, who would later become prime minister of Denmark.{{cite journal |year=2004 |title=Viggo Kampmann under besættelsen |url=http://130.225.142.181/fileadmin/saxo-abstract-uploads/viggo_kampmann_under_besaettelsen_2004_4.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810135641/http://130.225.142.181/fileadmin/saxo-abstract-uploads/viggo_kampmann_under_besaettelsen_2004_4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 August 2011 |journal=Siden Saxo |language=da |issue=4 |page=39 |last1=Skov |first1=Jesper |access-date=21 May 2011}} After von{{nbsp}}Trier had four awkward meetings with his biological father, Hartmann refused further contact.{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/22/1071941658741.html |title=Stranger and fiction |date=22 December 2003 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/22/1071941658741.html |archive-date=12 September 2012 |url-status=live }}

From 1987 to 1995, von Trier was married to producer and actress {{ill|Cæcilia Holbek|da|Cæcilia Holbek Trier}}, with whom he has two daughters, Agnes and Selma (both producers like their parents), and from 1997 to 2015 to Bente Frøge, with whom he has two sons.

Von Trier's mother considered herself a communist, while Ulf Trier was a social democrat. Both were committed nudists, and von{{nbsp}}Trier went on several childhood holidays to nudist camps. They regarded the disciplining of children as reactionary. Von Trier has noted that he was brought up in an atheist family, and that although Ulf Trier was Jewish, he was not religious. His parents did not allow much room in their household for "feelings, religion, or enjoyment", and also refused to make any rules for their children.{{cite web |url=http://visit-copenhagen.com/about-copenhagen/lars-von-trier.htm |title=Copenhagen: Lars von Trier |publisher=Visit-copenhagen.com |access-date=15 July 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716/http://visit-copenhagen.com/about-copenhagen/lars-von-trier.htm |archive-date=16 July 2012 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |url=http://www.signandsight.com/features/465.html |title=Lars von Trier, Katja Nicodemus: 'I am an American woman' (17/11/2005) – signandsight |last=Nicodemus |first=Katja |date=10 November 2005 |work=Die Zeit |quote=I come from a family of communist nudists. I was allowed to do or not do what I liked. My parents were not interested in whether I went to school or got drunk on white wine. After a childhood like that, you search for restrictions in your own life. |access-date=14 October 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910/http://www.signandsight.com/features/465.html |archive-date=10 September 2012 |url-status=live }}

In a 2005 interview with Die Zeit, von{{nbsp}}Trier said, "I don't know if I'm all that Catholic really. I'm probably not. Denmark is a very Protestant country. Perhaps I only turned Catholic to piss off a few of my countrymen." In 2009, he said, "I'm a very bad Catholic. In fact I'm becoming more and more of an atheist."Fielder, Miles (4 August 2009). {{cite web |url=http://www.bigissuescotland.com/features/view/104 |title=Lars von Trier |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818042256/http://www.bigissuescotland.com/features/view/104 |archive-date=18 August 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 September 2011}}. The Big Issue Scotland. Retrieved 11 September 2011.

Von Trier suffers from various fears and phobias, including an intense fear of flying. This fear frequently places severe constraints on him and his crew, necessitating that virtually all of his films be shot in either Denmark or Sweden.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/may/13/film.filmnews |title=Guardian UK interview 2007 |last=Burke |first=Jason |date=13 May 2007 |work=The Guardian |location=London, England |access-date=5 September 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120920/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/may/13/film.filmnews |archive-date=20 September 2012 |url-status=live}}

On numerous occasions, he has stated that he suffers from occasional depression which renders him incapable of doing his work and unable to fulfill social obligations.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lR6sIjOBE_AC&pg=PA118 |title=Global auteurs: politics in the films of Almodóvar, von Trier, and Winterbottom |last=Goss |first=Brian Michael |date=2009 |publisher=Peter Lang |location=Bern, Switzerland |isbn=978-1-4331-0134-2 |page=118 |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=6 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606040813/http://books.google.com/books?id=lR6sIjOBE_AC&pg=PA118 |url-status=live}}

On 8 August 2022, it was announced that von Trier had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.{{cite news|url = https://deadline.com/2022/08/lars-von-trier-parkinsons-disease-1235087333/|title = Lars Von Trier Diagnosed With Parkinson's Disease, Work On 'The Kingdom Exodus' Continues|work = Deadline Hollywood|date = 8 August 2022|accessdate = 8 August 2022|last = Goodfellow|first = Melanie|archive-date = 8 August 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220808171204/https://deadline.com/2022/08/lars-von-trier-parkinsons-disease-1235087333/|url-status = live}} According to Variety, von Trier plans to take a break from filmmaking to adjust to his new life with the disease, saying: "I will take a little break and find out what to do, but I certainly hope that my condition will be better. It's a disease you can't take away; you can work with the symptoms, though."{{Cite magazine |title=Lars von Trier on Working With Parkinson's Disease: 'I Just Have to Get Used to That I Shake and Not Be Shameful in Front of People' |first=Naman |last=Ramachandran |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/lars-von-trier-parkinsons-disease-the-kingdom-exodus-1235356789/ |date=1 September 2022 |access-date=2022-11-25 |magazine=Variety}} On 12 February 2025, Zentropa producer Louise Vesth announced via Instagram that von Trier had been admitted to a care facility for the condition.{{Cite news |last=AFP |date=2025-02-12 |title=Lars von Trier admitted to a care centre following Parkinson's diagnosis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/feb/12/lars-von-trier-admitted-to-a-care-centre-following-parkinsons-diagnosis |access-date=2025-02-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB}}

In May 2011, known to be provocative in interviews,{{cite web |last=Higgins |first=Charlotte |date=18 May 2011 |title=Lars Lars von Trier provokes Cannes with 'I'm a Nazi' comments |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/18/lars-von-trier-cannes-2011-nazi-comments |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921205835/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/may/18/lars-von-trier-cannes-2011-nazi-comments |archive-date=21 September 2016 |access-date=28 July 2016 |website=The Guardian}} von{{nbsp}}Trier's remarks during the press conference before the premiere of Melancholia in Cannes{{Citation |last=gustavo ponciano |title=Lars von Trier – Conférence de presse – Melancholia |date=19 May 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiAgWGzV8W4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/WiAgWGzV8W4 |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}} caused significant controversy in the media, leading the festival to declare him persona non grata.{{cite news |title=Von Trier 'persona non grata' at Cannes after Nazi row |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-13452978 |url-status=live |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915031953/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-13452978 |archive-date=15 September 2016}} He was therefore banned from Cannes for one year,{{cite web |date=22 November 2013 |title=Lars von Trier's Sex Epic 'Nymphomaniac' Can't Compete at Cannes, Says Thierry Fremaux |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lars-von-triers-sex-epic-659060 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161011102153/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lars-von-triers-sex-epic-659060 |archive-date=11 October 2016 |access-date=28 July 2016 |website=The Hollywood Reporter}} although Melancholia still competed in that year's competition.{{cite web |title=Lars von Trier 'persona non grata' at Cannes after Hitler remarks |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lars-von-trier-persona-non-grata-at-cannes-after-hitler-remarks/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819054118/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lars-von-trier-persona-non-grata-at-cannes-after-hitler-remarks/ |archive-date=19 August 2016 |access-date=28 July 2016 |website=CBS News|date=19 May 2011}}

Minutes before the end of the press conference, von Trier was asked about his German roots and the Nazi aesthetic, in response to his description of the film's genre as "German romance".{{cite web |last=Turner |first=Kyle |date=21 February 2014 |title=The Romantic Cynicism of Lars von Trier |url=http://theretroset.com/lars-von-trier-the-romantic-cynic/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320195640/http://theretroset.com/lars-von-trier-the-romantic-cynic/ |archive-date=20 March 2019 |access-date=20 March 2019 |website=theretroset.com |publisher=The Retro Set}}{{Cite web |last=Hammid |date=18 May 2011 |title=Lars von Trier – 'I understand Hitler...' |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpUqpLh0iRw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/QpUqpLh0iRw |archive-date=2021-10-30 |access-date=28 July 2016 |website=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} He joked that since he was "no longer Jewish," having been told the truth about his biological father, he now "understands" and "sympathizes" with Hitler, that he is not against the Jews except for Israel which is "a pain in the ass" and that he is a Nazi. Von Trier was branded an antisemite for his remarks.{{cite web |date=18 May 2011 |title=Lars Von Trier at Cannes: Anti-Semitic spew or strange, stupid gaffe? UPDATED {{!}} Hollywood Jew |url=http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/item/anti-semitic_spew_from_the_cannes_film_festival_from_director_lars_von_trie |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827235921/http://www.jewishjournal.com/hollywoodjew/item/anti-semitic_spew_from_the_cannes_film_festival_from_director_lars_von_trie/ |archive-date=27 August 2016 |access-date=28 July 2016}} He released a formal apology immediately after the press conference{{Cite news |date=18 May 2011 |title=Director apologises for Nazi, Hitler jokes in Cannes |newspaper=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-cannes-hitler-idUKTRE74H36G20110518 |url-status=live |access-date=8 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208185126/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-cannes-hitler-idUKTRE74H36G20110518 |archive-date=8 December 2021 |via=www.reuters.com}} and kept apologizing for his joke during all of the interviews he gave in the weeks following the incident,{{Citation |last=RT |title='I'm not Nazi' – Lars von Trier in RT exclusive on Cannes Hitler remarks |date=24 May 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Hp3qB2F9Q |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/G_Hp3qB2F9Q |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}}{{Citation |last=TheCelebFactory |title=Lars Von Trier interview on the Nazi comments he made at the Cannes Film Festival |date=28 September 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxg-um23ML4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/sxg-um23ML4 |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}}{{Citation |last=celluloidVideo |title=LARS von TRIER comments on his Nazi statement in Cannes // 2011 |date=20 May 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8IsI-2b8Ls |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/_8IsI-2b8Ls |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}} admitting that he was not sober,{{Citation |last=Mathias B. |title=Lars Von Trier interview 2014 English Subtitles (1/2) |date=15 February 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwsGibJgyqE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/DwsGibJgyqE |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}} and saying that he did not need to explain that he is not a Nazi.{{Citation |last=Anne Thompson |title=Lars von Trier Part One |date=25 May 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyw5FG7du-M |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/Pyw5FG7du-M |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}}{{Citation |last=euronews (in English) |title=euronews cinema – Von Trier regrets 'idiotic' Hitler comments |date=21 May 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssiDCO5AHlc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/ssiDCO5AHlc |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}} However, in 2019, von Trier stated that he made this remark at the "only press conference I ever had when I was sober.""A filmmaker's flamelike glow," New York Times, 15 February 2019

The actors of Melancholia who were present during the incident – Dunst, Gainsbourg, Skarsgård – defended the director, pointing to his provocative sense of humor{{cite web |last=O'Hehir |first=Andrew |date=10 November 2011 |title=Interview: Charlotte Gainsbourg talks von Trier's 'Melancholia' |url=http://www.salon.com/2011/11/10/interview_charlotte_gainsbourg_talks_von_triers_melancholia/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814235314/http://www.salon.com/2011/11/10/interview_charlotte_gainsbourg_talks_von_triers_melancholia/ |archive-date=14 August 2016 |access-date=28 July 2016 |website=Salon}} and his depression. He refused to attend a private press screening of his subsequent feature Nymphomaniac. In the director's defense, Skarsgård stated at the screening, "Everyone knows he's not a Nazi, and it was disgraceful the way the press had these headlines saying he was."{{cite news |first=Xan |last=Brooks |date=5 December 2013 |title=Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac arouses debate as a 'really bad porn movie' |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/05/lars-von-trier-nymphomaniac-stellan-skarsgard?commentpage=1 |url-status=live |access-date=15 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181025070923/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/05/lars-von-trier-nymphomaniac-stellan-skarsgard?commentpage=1 |archive-date=25 October 2018}} The director of the Cannes festival later called the controversy "unfair" and as "stupid" as von{{nbsp}}Trier's bad joke, concluding that his films are welcome at the festival and that von{{nbsp}}Trier is considered a "friend".

Several of his films – The Idiots (1998), Antichrist (2009), Nymphomaniac (2013) and The House That Jack Built (2018) – contain explicit content that has generated controversy;{{Cite web |last=Lazic |first=Manuela |date=2018-12-14 |title=The Hell That Lars von Trier Built |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2018/12/14/18139814/the-house-that-jack-built-lars-von-trier-review-dogville-nymphomaniac-antichrist-dance-in-the-dark |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=The Ringer |language=en}} the first faced widespread backlash upon its release as one film critic was ejected from its premiere screening at Cannes for heckling, and the film was heavily censored for subsequent releases.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-12 |title='The Idiots': Lars Von Trier's Controversial Film Gets 25th Anniversary Theatrical Release |url=https://collider.com/the-idiots-movie-release-date-remastered/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=Collider |language=en}} At the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, approximately 100 audience members walked out of the premiere of The House That Jack Built.

In October 2017, Björk, in the wake of dozens of sexual abuse cases brought against film producer Harvey Weinstein, posted on her Facebook page that she had been sexually harassed by a Danish film director.{{cite news |last=Nyren |first=Erin |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/bjork-sexual-harassment-danish-director-1202590429/ |title=Björk Shares Experience of Harassment By 'Danish Director:' He Created 'An Impressive Net of Illusion' |work=Variety |date=15 October 2017 |access-date=17 October 2017}} She commented:

{{blockquote|It was extremely clear to me when I walked into the actresses profession that my humiliation and role as a lesser sexually harassed being was the norm and set in stone with the director and a staff of dozens who enabled it and encouraged it. I became aware of that it is a universal thing that a director can touch and harass his actresses at will and the institution of film allows it. When I turned the director down repeatedly he sulked and punished me and created for his team an impressive net of illusion where I was framed as the difficult one. ...

and in my opinion he had a more fair and meaningful relationship with his actresses after my confrontation so there is hope. Let's hope this statement supports the actresses and actors all over. Let's stop this. There is a wave of change in the world.{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/bjork/posts/10155777444371460 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016011740/https://www.facebook.com/bjork/posts/10155777444371460 |author=Björk |title=i am inspired by the women everywhere who are speaking up online to tell about my experience with a danish director |publisher=Facebook |date=15 October 2017 |access-date=16 October 2017 |archive-date=16 October 2017}}}}

The Los Angeles Times found evidence identifying him as Lars von Trier.{{cite news |last=D'Zurilla |first=Christie |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-entertainment-news-updates-bjork-sexual-harassment-lars-von-1508261125-htmlstory.html |title=Björk details alleged harassment; Lars von Trier denies accusations |work=Los Angeles Times |date=17 October 2017 |access-date=17 October 2017}} Von Trier has rejected Björk's allegation that he sexually harassed her during the making of the film Dancer in the Dark, and said "That was not the case. But that we were definitely not friends, that's a fact", to Danish daily Jyllands-Posten in its online edition.{{Cite web |last=Enggaard |first=Michael |date=2017-10-16 |title=Lars von Trier: Der er intet i den sag |url=https://jyllands-posten.dk/kultur/film/ECE9953026/lars-von-trier-der-er-intet-i-den-sag/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=Jyllands-Posten |language=da}} Peter Aalbæk Jensen, the producer of Dancer in the Dark, told Jyllands-Posten that "as far as I remember we [Lars von Trier and I] were the victims. That woman was stronger than both Lars von Trier and me and our company put together. She dictated everything and was about to close a movie of 100m kroner [$16m]".{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/17/not-the-case-lars-von-trier-denies-sexually-harassing-bjork |title='Not the case': Lars Von Trier denies sexually harassing Björk |last=Staff and agencies |date=19 October 2017 |website=the Guardian}}{{Cite web |last=Enggaard |first=Michael |date=2017-10-15 |title=Peter Aalbæk afviser Björk-anklager om sexchikane: »Vi var ofrene« |url=https://jyllands-posten.dk/kultur/film/ECE9952454/peter-aalbaek-afviser-bjoerkanklager-om-sexchikane-vi-var-ofrene/ |access-date=2023-08-28 |website=Jyllands-Posten |language=da}} After von Trier's statement, Björk explained the details about this incident:{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155782628166460&id=6747251459&_ft_=top_level_post_id.10155782628166460:tl_objid.10155782628166460:throwback_story_fbid.10155782628166460&__tn__=,; |title=Björk |website=www.facebook.com}}

In the spirit of #metoo I would like to lend women around the world a hand with a more detailed description of my experience with a Danish director. It feels extremely difficult to come out with something of this nature into the public, especially when immediately ridiculed by offenders. I fully sympathise with everyone who hesitates, even for years. But I feel it is the right time especially now when it could make a change. Here comes a list of the encounters that I think count as sexual harassment:

1. After each take the director ran up to me and wrapped his arms around me for a long time in front of all crew or alone and stroked me sometimes for minutes against my wishes.
2. When after 2 months of this i said he had to stop the touching, he exploded and broke a chair in front of everyone on set. Like someone who has always been allowed to fondle his actresses. Then we all got sent home.
3. During the whole filming process there were constant awkward paralysing unwanted whispered sexual offers from him with graphic descriptions, sometimes with his wife standing next to us.
4. While filming in Sweden, he threatened to climb from his room's balcony over to mine in the middle of the night with a clear sexual intention, while his wife was in the room next door. I escaped to my friends room. This was what finally woke me up to the severity of all this and made me stand my ground.
5. Fabricated stories in the press about me being difficult by his producer. This matches beautifully the Weinstein methods and bullying. I have never eaten a shirt. Not sure that is even possible.
6. I didn't comply or agree on being sexually harassed. That was then portrayed as me being difficult. If being difficult is standing up to being treated like that, i'll own it.

Hope

Let's break this curse.

Warmth

Björk

{{blockquote|I have worked with Björk for over 30 years and have never made a single statement or interview regarding our work together. This time is different.

I have read the lies written by Lars and his producer Peter about Björk – and feel compelled to speak out and put the record straight. Over the last 30 years, the Dancer in the Dark project is the one and only time she has fallen out with a collaborator.

This was a result of the directors ongoing, disrespectful verbal and physical abuse which continued after both Björk and myself demanded that he stop behaving this way. Björk completed the film out of respect for the cast and everyone involved. I feel compelled to publicly speak out in fierce support of Björk in regards to her terrible experiences working with Lars Von Trier, and I back what she has said 110%.}}

The Guardian later found that Jensen's studio, Zentropa, with which von Trier frequently collaborated, had an endemic culture of sexual harassment. Jensen stepped down from CEO position of Zentropa as further harassment allegations came to light in 2017.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/may/10/lars-von-trier-producer-peter-aalbaek-jensen-stop-slapping-asses |title=Lars von Trier producer: 'I'll stop slapping asses' in wake of #MeToo – The Guardian |website=TheGuardian.com |date=10 May 2018}}

A donkey was slaughtered for dramatic purposes during production of Manderlay, an act that caused actors including John C. Reilly to quit the film in protest of its cruelty to animals.{{Cite news |date=2011-05-19 |title=Lars Von Trier's controversial career |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-13455855 |access-date=2022-12-17}} The scene was cut from the film before it was released.{{cite news |title=Cruelty to Animals in the Entertainment Business : Cruel Camera – Cruelty on Film : the fifth estate : CBC News |work=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/cruelcamera/cruelty.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325193835/http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/cruelcamera/cruelty.html |archive-date=25 March 2010 |df=dmy-all}}

Although The House that Jack Built was praised by animal rights organization PETA for its use of realistic effects, a scene involving the main character mutilating a duckling was the subject of criticism from some audiences.{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2018-05-17 |title=PETA Defends Lars von Trier's 'The House That Jack Built' Against Backlash Over Graphic Animal Mutilation Scene |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/peta-defends-lars-von-trier-the-house-that-jack-built-duck-mutilation-1201965931/ |access-date=2022-12-05 |website=IndieWire |language=en}}

In August 2023, Lars von Trier published on Instagram a critical entry against the delivery of F-16 fighters to Ukraine, ending his post by saying "Russian lives matter also!"{{cite web |last1=Cain |first1=Sian |title=Lars von Trier defends 'Russian lives matter also' comment |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/25/lars-von-trier-defends-russian-lives-matter-also-comment |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 September 2023 |date=25 August 2023}}{{cite web |last1=von Trier |first1=Lars |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CwQF70VMWS3/ |website=www.instagram.com |access-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230822185206/https://www.instagram.com/p/CwQF70VMWS3/ |archive-date=22 August 2023}} The entry immediately became publicized in official Russian media and by the Russian propaganda officer Margarita Simonyan.{{cite web |last1=ČTK |title=Lars von Trier zaujal Kyjev i Moskvu výrokem, že na ruských životech také záleží {{!}} ČeskéNoviny.cz |url=https://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/lars-von-trier-zaujal-kyjev-i-moskvu-vyrokem-ze-na-ruskych-zivotech-take-zalezi/2404508 |website=www.ceskenoviny.cz |access-date=23 September 2023 |language=cs}} Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, responded on Twitter, criticising von Trier's comments, saying, "The choice between the executioner and the victim becomes a tragedy when the artist chooses the side of the executioner."{{cite web |last1=Murray |first1=Tom |title=Ukrainian official eviscerates Lars von Trier for 'Russian lives also matter' post |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/lars-von-trier-movies-russia-twitter-b2398520.html |website=The Independent |access-date=23 September 2023 |language=en |date=24 August 2023}} Two days later, Von Trier then made another post on Instagram, saying, "I support Ukraine with every beat of my heart! I was just stating the obvious: that all lives in this world matter!"

{{Main|Lars von Trier filmography}}

Von Trier often works more than once with actors and production members. Manon Rasmussen was the only crew member as a costume designer to collaborate with von Trier in all of his works (except Medea and The Idiots) since The Element of Crime (1984). His first, but initial acting collaborator for The Element of Crime was Leif Magnusson, who appeared in his role as a hotel guest, yet continued to appear again in the last two films as different minor roles for his first trilogy until his acting retirement in the early 1990s. His main crew members and producer team has remained intact since Europa.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001885/ |title=Lars von Trier |website=Internet Movie Database |access-date=27 July 2016 |archive-date=26 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726153007/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001885/ |url-status=live }} Many of his recurring actors have expressed their devotion{{Cite web|url=https://thedissolve.com/features/interview/474-stellan-skarsgard-on-his-long-ongoing-collaboratio/|title=Stellan Skarsgård on his long, ongoing collaboration with Lars von Trier|website=The Dissolve|access-date=27 July 2016|archive-date=15 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415011801/https://thedissolve.com/features/interview/474-stellan-skarsgard-on-his-long-ongoing-collaboratio/|url-status=live}} to von Trier.{{cite web |url=http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a7745/kirsten-dunst-on-lars-von-trier-feeling-free-32465/ |title=Kirsten Dunst on Lars von Trier & Feeling Free |date=11 November 2011 |access-date=27 July 2016 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818165838/http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/a7745/kirsten-dunst-on-lars-von-trier-feeling-free-32465/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://collider.com/jean-marc-barr-nymphomaniac-interview/ |title=Jean-Marc Barr Talks Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac |website=Collider |date=24 January 2013 |access-date=27 July 2016 |archive-date=14 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814192218/http://collider.com/jean-marc-barr-nymphomaniac-interview/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2014/03/willem-dafoe-on-reuniting-with-wes-anderson-working-with-lars-von-trier-and-why-he-doesnt-want-to-be-famous-29310/ |title=Willem Dafoe on Reuniting With Wes Anderson, Working With Lars von Trier and Why He Doesn't Want to Be Famous |last=Smith |first=Nigel M. |date=6 March 2014 |access-date=27 July 2016 |archive-date=1 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801232732/http://www.indiewire.com/2014/03/willem-dafoe-on-reuniting-with-wes-anderson-working-with-lars-von-trier-and-why-he-doesnt-want-to-be-famous-29310/ |url-status=live }}{{Citation |last=selinakyle |title=Charlie Rose – An Interview with Nicole Kidman |date=10 June 2012 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu1EGe_xPow | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/yu1EGe_xPow| archive-date=2021-10-30|access-date=27 July 2016}}{{cbignore}}{{Citation |last=Anne Thompson |title=Kirsten Dunst 1 |date=16 November 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Fse0iexgQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/w_Fse0iexgQ |access-date=28 July 2016 |archive-date=2021-10-30}}{{cbignore}} European actors Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier, and Stellan Skarsgård have all appeared across several von Trier films. With the exception of Medea, The Kingdom, his incompleted "USA Trilogy", and The House that Jack Built; British-French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and Swedish actor Leif Magnusson are the only two acting collaborators (excluding himself) to have appeared in all installments of two of his trilogies, taking the lead roles in Depression for the former and minor roles in Europa for the latter.

Note: This list shows only the actors (in alphabetical order only) who have collaborated with von Trier in three or more productions.

{{Main|List of awards and nominations received by Lars von Trier}}Among his more than 100 awards and 200 nominations{{cite web |title=Lars von Trier |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001885/awards |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209202825/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001885/awards |archive-date=9 December 2016 |access-date=27 July 2016 |website=Internet Movie Database}} at film festivals worldwide, von Trier 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. Von Trier has also received both Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination for the former.

• In von Trier's second trilogy, Golden Heart, is the first franchise or trilogy to have won both Bodil and Robert for Best Actress in a Leading Role, respectively Emily Watson, Bodil Jorgensen, and Björk, while Watson and Björk also have won the European for Best Actress.{{fact|date=September 2024}}
• Also in Golden Heart, three of them have nominated the Palme d'Or, with the latter won.{{fact|date=September 2024}}
• In von Trier's fourth trilogy, Depression, is the first franchise or trilogy to have sweep the Robert for Best Danish Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects.{{fact|date=September 2024}}

• 1{{anchor|endnote_1}}^ Dimension was originally intended a feature-length gangster film with each 33 years of development as for 2024 per theatrical release, but he was lost interest in the project after the death of Cartlidge, Constantine, and Hugo Järegård, in which he completes one of the footages into a short film instead.{{Cite web|last=Jensen |first=Jorn Rossing|title=Unfinished Lars von Trier film Dimension headed to DVD |date=2010-08-19 |url=https://www.screendaily.com/unfinished-lars-von-trier-film-dimension-headed-to-dvd/5017118.article|access-date=2025-05-15|website=Screen|language=en}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Bainbridge |first=Caroline |title=The Cinema of Lars von Trier: Authenticity and Artifice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6gqQAAACAAJ |year=2007 |publisher=Wallflower Press |isbn=978-1-905674-44-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Goss |first=Brian Michael |title=Global auteurs: politics in the films of Almodóvar, von Trier, and Winterbottom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lR6sIjOBE_AC |date=January 2009 |publisher=Peter Lang |isbn=978-1-4331-0134-2}}
• {{cite book |last1=Lasagna |first1=Roberto |last2=Lena |first2=Sandra |title=Lars von Trier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9FYAibtRr4C |date=1 June 2003 |publisher=Gremese Editore |language=fr |isbn=978-88-7301-543-7}}
• {{cite book |last1=Livingston |first1=Paisley |last2=Plantinga |first2=Carl R. |last3=Hjort |first3=Mette |title=The Routledge companion to philosophy and film |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hev6YYxFpYgC |date=3 December 2008 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77166-5}}
• {{cite book |last=Lumholdt |first=Jan |title=Lars von Trier: interviews |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=voTOt3GaRJAC |year=2003 |publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-57806-532-5}}
• Rudolph, Pascal (2020). "Björk on the Gallows: Performance, Persona, and Authenticity in Lars von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark", in IASPM Journal 10/1, 22–42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5429/2079-3871(2020)v10i1.3en.
• Rudolph, Pascal (2022). Präexistente Musik im Film: Klangwelten im Kino des Lars von Trier (in German). edition text + kritik. DOI https://doi.org/10.5771/9783967077582.
• Rudolph, Pascal (2023). "The Musical Idea Work Group: Production and Reception of Pre-existing Music in Film", in Twentieth-Century Music 20/2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1478572222000214.
• {{cite book |last=Schepelern |first=Peter |title=Lars von Triers film: tvang og befrielse |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oXlZAAAAMAAJ |year=2000 |publisher=Rosinante |language=da |isbn=978-87-621-0164-7}}
• {{cite book |last=Simons |first=Jan |title=Playing the waves: Lars Von Trier's game cinema |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_GUrJW2G9WkIC |date=15 September 2007 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-5356-979-5}}
• {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Jack |title=Dogme uncut: Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterburg, and the gang that took on Hollywood |url=https://archive.org/details/trent_0116404953337 |url-access=registration |year=2003 |publisher=Santa Monica Press |isbn=978-1-891661-35-8}}
• {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Jack |title=Lars von Trier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UHJZAAAAMAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=British Film Institute |isbn=978-0-85170-902-4}}
• {{cite book |last=Stühl |first=Leo |year=2013 |title=Die Kunst im Horrorgenre: Gewaltexzesse und Pornografie in Lars von Triers Antichrist |publisher=Diplomica |location=Hamburg |isbn=978-3-95549-099-7}}
• {{cite book |last=Tiefenbach |first=Georg |title=Drama und Regie (Writing and Directing): Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville |year=2010 |publisher=Königshausen & Neumann |isbn=978-3-8260-4096-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Tiefenbach |first=Georg |title=Romantik und Symbolismus (Romanticism and Symbolism): Bilder und Musik in der Ouvertüre von Lars von Triers Melancholia (Images and Music in the Overture of Lars von Trier's Melancholia) |year=2024 |publisher=Königshausen & Neumann |isbn=978-3-8260-9037-0}}
• {{cite book |last1=von Trier |first1=Lars |last2=Addonizio |first2=Antonio |title=Il dogma della libertà: conversazioni con Lars von Trier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cK26AAAACAAJ |date=1 January 1999 |publisher=Edizioni della battaglia |language=it |isbn=978-88-87630-07-7}}
• {{cite book |last1=von Trier |first1=Lars |last2=Björkman |first2=Stig |title=Trier on von Trier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pD5kQgAACAAJ |year=2003 |publisher=Faber and Faber |isbn=978-0-571-20707-7}}

{{Commons}}

{{Wikiquote}}

• [http://www.zentropa.dk/ Zentropa official website] – von Trier's production company
• {{IMDb name|1885}}
• {{Danish National Filmography name|1031}}
• [http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/vontrier Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXWcl6OuVw8 The Burden From Donald Duck. An interview with Lars von Trier] Video by Louisiana Channel

{{Lars von Trier|state=expanded}}

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