[ Published July 23 - updated August 28 ]
When the Venice International Film Festival rolls out the red carpet for the 81st time, Danish film will be represented by some of the country's most acclaimed filmmakers.
Thomas Vinterberg's first television series, 'Families Like Ours,' has been selected for the festival's official program, where it will have its world premiere out of competition. This series is Vinterberg's first project since his Oscar-winning film 'Another Round' in 2021, and it also marks the director's debut at the Venice Festival.
'Families Like Ours' takes place in Denmark, in the not-too-distant future. The rising water levels can no longer be ignored and the country needs to be evacuated. As people disperse in all directions, they must bid farewell to what they love, what they know, and who they are. Slowly but steadily, everything is different. All property becomes worthless, all fortunes change, and luck favours only a few. Those who can afford it travel to affluent countries while the less well-off depend on government-funded relocation to more challenging destinations. Families, friends, and loved ones are separated. Some will be overcome by hatred and division while others will nurture love and foster new beginnings.
The cast includes Amaryllis August, Albert Rudbeck Lindhardt, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Paprika Steen and David Dencik
The series is written by Thomas Vinterberg and Bo Hr. Hansen, with Vinterberg directing all seven episodes.
Produced by Sisse Graum Jørgensen for Zentropa Entertainments and Kasper Dissing for TV 2 Denmark, STUDIOCANAL, and CANAL+, the series is supported by the Danish Film Institute through the Public Service Fund.
This marks the third consecutive year that Zentropa has a title featured at the festival. In 2022, it was Lars von Trier's 'The Kingdom Exodus,' and in 2023, it was Nikolaj Arcel's 'The Bastard.'
The Venice Festival will screen 'Families Like Ours' in its entirety. The series will premiere in Denmark on TV 2 and TV 2 Play this fall.
Pusher
Kim Bodnia and Mads Mikkelsen in 'Pusher' (1996)
Nicolas Winding Refn's debut film 'Pusher' will be revived at the festival as part of the Venice Classics series, 28 years after its original release. The film, which has become a cult classic, features memorable performances by Mads Mikkelsen and Kim Bodnia, who both had their breakthroughs with this gritty tale of two drug dealers. Refn's unique style and ability to create intense and gripping scenes have made 'Pusher' an unforgettable film in Danish cinema history.
Refn's commercial makes festival history
'Beauty is not a sin' is the first commercial selected for the official programme at Venice International Film Festival. Photo: byNWR
In addition to this celebration of 'Pusher,' Nicolas Winding Refn also presents the Italian-Danish short film 'Beauty is Not a Sin' at the festival, which will be shown out of competition. The eight-minute film is a commercial for the motorcycle manufacturer MV Agusta, marking the first time in the festival's history that a commercial has been selected for the official program.
The Danish director's last time at the festival was in 2022 with his Netflix series 'Copenhagen Cowboy.
Minor Co-productions
The Venice Festival has also invited two minor co-productions supported by the Danish Film Institute: 'Kill the Jockey' and the documentary 'Songs of Slow Burning Earth.'
Kill the Jockey
Luis Ortega's Argentine-Spanish-Danish film 'Kill the Jockey' will have its world premiere in the festival's main competition.
The film follows a legendary jockey, whose self-destructive behaviour is beginning to outshine his talent and threaten his relationship with his girlfriend Abril. On the day of the most important race of his career that will clear him of his debts from his mobster boss Sirena, he has a severe accident, disappears from the hospital and wanders the streets of the city. Free from his identity, he starts to discover who he is truly meant to be. But Sirena wants him found, dead or alive.
The Danish contribution to the film is primarily in sound and visual effects. Claus Lynge did the sound design, while Sune Wagner composed the music. Esben Syberg is the VFX Supervisor, and Mikael Windelin is the VFX Producer. Additionally, a large Danish VFX team has worked on the film. It is co-produced by Katrin Pors, Eva Jakobsen, and Mikkel Jersin for Snowglobe with support from the Danish Film Institute.
Snowglobe has also co-produced 'Basileia' by debut director Isabella Torre, which is selected for the Giornate degli Autori in Venice. The film stars Danish actor Elliot Crosset Hove.
Songs of Slow Burning Earth
The Ukrainian-Danish documentary directed by Olha Zhurba 'Songs of Slow Burning Earth' is selected for the official program and will have its world premiere at the festival out of competition. The film, directed by Olha Zhurba, focuses on Ukraine during the first two years of Russia's full-scale invasion and explores how the war has become a new normal. The film is an audiovisual diary that weaves together landscapes, conversations, and sounds, depicting how the war has transformed Ukrainian society.
Edited by Michael Aaglund and co-produced by Anne Köhncke for Final Cut for Real with support from the Danish Film Institute.
Apocalypse in the Tropics
The Brazilian-American-Danish film 'Apocalypse in the Tropics' explores and uncovers the dominance of the strongly fundamentalist evangelical church in Brazil. Through the film, we witness how religious forces paved the way to power for the far-right Bolsonaro. As we follow powerful evangelical leaders, ministers, doctors, nurses, indigenous people, and residents of slums, we gain insight into a country divided by holy war and conflicting visions of faith, science, power, and solidarity.
Anders Riis-Hansen and Malene Flindt Pedersen co-produced the film for Hansen & Pedersen with support from the Danish Film Institute.
Danish VR project in Venice immersive program
VR-projektet 'Garden Alchemy'
The mixed reality installation "Garden Alchemy" by the artist duo Uri and Michelle Kranot is an interactive multiplayer experience where participants share an experimental space filled with music, hand-painted animation, and immersive installations. The VR project is selected for The "Biennale Cinema Immersive" program out of competition that focuses on the development and production of virtual reality (VR) and immersive works.
Michelle and Uri Kranot have previously found success at the Venice Film Festival with their VR projects "Nothing Happens" (2017) and "The Hangman at Home" (2020), the latter of which won the top prize for Best VR Project. "Garden Alchemy" is currently in its prototype phase and functions as a research project co-produced by The Animation Workshop / VIA UC.
The project is supported by the Danish Film Institute, The West Danish Film Fund, the Danish Arts Foundation, and the Eurimages Innovation Fund, and it is created in collaboration with the award-winning VR production house Khora and the theater group The Art of Listening.
