Michael Noer first made a name for himself with the documentaries "Vesterbro" and "The Wild Hearts", which came out in 2007 and 2008, respectively. In recent years though, Michael Noer is mostly known for his works of fiction, with his feature debut "R" dating from 2010 (co-directed with Tobias Lindholm) and his next project entitled "Nordvest" due in 2013.
Nontheless the jury of the annual Roos Award, Denmark's most prestigious honour in documentary filmmaking, singled out Michael Noer for this year's award. Michael Noer's approach to fiction, as the jury's motivation reads, is fundamentally documentary, and he is not afraid to use fiction tools to create engaging documentaries. This has lead the director to create innovative and groundbreaking films, for which – as for his wild energy and generosity – he receives the Roos Award 2012.
"Michael Noer has pulled Danish fiction film in a refreshingly new direction and given Danish documentary a cinematic boost," the jury ends its motivation.
Michael Noer
Director. Born 1978, Denmark. Graduated from the National Film School of Denmark, 2003.
"Vesterbro" (2007), a story about Noer's 20-year-old neighbours as seen through their own eyes, won a Special Mention at CPH:DOX. In the digital webisode "Doxwise Diary" (2008 – www.doxwise.dk), Noer lets four young Danes chronicle their everyday life through film, and his passion for getting under the skin of his youthful protagonists is equally apparent in "The Wild Hearts" (2008) which follows a group of young men embarking on a journey through Europe on their mopeds in search of freedom and fellowship.
Noer made his feature film debut with the tough prison drama "R" (2010), co-directed with Tobias Lindholm and starring Pilou Asbæk ("Borgen"). The film won top awards at Göteborg and Mumbai plus several accolades at the two top annual Danish awards ceremonies Bodil and Robert. For their work on the film, Noer og Lindholm received the Nordisk Film Award in 2010 and the Carl Th. Dreyer Award in 2011. The first collaboration between the two was on the short film "Hawaii" (2006) directed by Noer and co-scripted with Lindholm.
Noer's second feature film, "Nordvest", is set for domestic release in 2013.
Read more about Michael Noer's films
Crosscultural doc dating
Doing time ain't cool
The Idiots meets Easy Rider
Moped Hearts