The 20th edition of LEFFEST pays tribute to Lars von Trier with a complete retrospective, the most comprehensive ever held worldwide to date. The programme brings together feature films, short films, television series, commercials and music videos, tracing a body of work that spans cinematic genres and movements. Moving between formal experimentation and the deconstruction of cinematic conventions, the Danish filmmaker explores the relationships between desire, guilt, suffering and power, questioning the conventions of representation and the boundaries between fiction and reality.
To accompany the screenings of his work, the festival proposes an in-depth examination of his cinema, inviting some of his closest collaborators from different disciplines to share their experiences and discuss his creative process, the evolution of his work and the distinctive nature of his filmmaking methods.
Anders Refn, who has collaborated with von Trier for around three decades, will share insights from a career that includes editing Breaking the Waves and Antichrist, as well as working as assistant director on Melancholia. His testimony will offer a perspective on the filmmaker's evolution through the eyes of someone who has worked with him at different stages, in different roles, and as a friend.
Manuel Alberto Claro, cinematographer of Melancholia, Nymphomaniac and The House That Jack Built, will also help explore the visual dimension of von Trier's cinema: the use of handheld cameras, the way the camera follows and responds to the actors, the proximity to a documentary approach, and the relationship with painting, composition and colour.
The tribute will also welcome actors who have worked with von Trier at different stages of his career. Willem Dafoe will join the festival for 24 hours to pay tribute to his friend, taking part in a conversation with Stacy Martin following the screening of Nymphomaniac — Vol. I (director's cut), as well as in the masterclass Working with Lars von Trier, at Cinema Medeia Nimas, on 9 November at 11 am.
Jean-Marc Barr, whose collaboration with the director began with Europa in 1991, will join Barbara Sukowa for a conversation following the screening of the film. Jens Albinus will share his experience of performing in The Idiots, offering an inside perspective on working under the "Vow of Chastity" of the Dogme 95 movement. Louise Mieritz will also attend the screening of The Boss of It All, an opportunity to discover the comedic side of von Trier's cinema.
The behind-the-scenes exploration continues with three documentaries filmed during production: The Humiliated, by Jesper Jargil, about The Idiots; Dogville Confessions, by Sami Saif, about Dogville; and The Road to Manderlay, by Carsten Bramsen, about Manderlay. These will be joined by Tranceformer — A Portrait of Lars von Trier, by Stig Björkman and Fredrik von Krusenstjerna, a portrait of the filmmaker both at work and beyond it.
The programme also includes films that have served as important references for his cinematic universe, among them Edvard Munch, by Peter Watkins, India Song, by Marguerite Duras, and Day of Wrath, by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Further surprises are also in store, yet to be announced.
The retrospective will be accompanied by a publication bringing together interviews with Lars von Trier and his collaborators, as well as manifestos written by the director throughout his career.
Through films, conversations and documents, this tribute offers a closer look at Lars von Trier, his work and his filmmaking methods: an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts, shed light on the many rumours surrounding him and his film shoots, and gain a deeper understanding of the filmmaker and his creative process...