Thomas Vinterberg

2025
Director

He creates films that are not just watched but profoundly felt. Thomas Vinterberg is 2025 year’s Nordic Honorary Award recipient.

Vinterberg burst onto the international film scene with a bang – armed with a manifesto, an unforgettable scene, and a film that instantly entered cinematic history. He was just 29 years old when The Celebration (Festen) premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998. The audience held their breath in the festival’s largest theatre as Christian (Ulrich Thomsen) delivered his shocking speech to his father at his 60th birthday celebration. The young director then spent the rest of the festival explaining himself, the film, and the Dogme manifesto – which he and Lars von Trier championed with their respective films on the French Riviera – to eager journalists. He also had to make space for the Jury Prize he was awarded. It was an extraordinary breakthrough.

What Vinterberg achieved with The Celebration is what he does best: portraying deeply human and emotionally complex experiences. He explores themes such as family, loss, and guilt with authenticity and realism, both in content and form. His ability to elicit nuanced, multifaceted performances from his actors is unparalleled. You didn’t just watch The Celebration; you felt it.

Photo: Svante Öhrnberg

The sudden success, however, was not without its drawbacks. Vinterberg has admitted that the overwhelming response to The Celebration stifled his creativity at the end of the 1990s. It took him five years to complete his next film, the science fiction drama It’s All About Love, a stark departure from Dogme’s strict limitations, co-produced by nine countries. Two years later came the English-language crime drama Dear Wendy, written by Lars von Trier.

For Submarino, half the cast and crew were first-timers due to a funding requirement. Vinterberg felt this added to the film’s authenticity and likened the experience to his earliest works. Perhaps this inspired his return to the themes and realism that had defined his early career in his next film, The Hunt (Jagten). With a phenomenal performance by Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role, the film tackled accusations, mass hysteria, and morality. Once again, Vinterberg explored human relationships with rare sensitivity.

Photo: Anders Overgaard

Vinterberg’s career is marked by a willingness to explore new genres and territories, as seen in Far From the Madding Crowd, The Commune (Kollektivet), and Kursk. His journey has also been shaped by personal tragedy; in 2019, his 19-year-old daughter Ida was killed in a car accident. He channelled his grief into his work, creating poignant yet life-affirming portraits of human fragility and resilience, often set in Denmark. Another Round (Druk), which won an Oscar and was dedicated to Ida, stands as a shining example, as does the acclaimed drama series A Family Like Ours (En familj som vår).

Now, Vinterberg is taking on a cherished classic: The Brothers Lionheart, a book that has served as a kind of bible for many Nordic families. If anyone is suited to adapt this beloved story, it is Vinterberg. As a director and screenwriter, he possesses a unique ability to evoke empathy and complexity, skilfully portraying ethical and moral dilemmas with a profound sense of realism. His deep care and respect for his characters allow us, as viewers, to feel seen.

In Vinterberg’s films, we are compelled to confront ourselves. We eagerly anticipate seeing – and feeling – much more from him in the future.