Close-up: Dogma '95 - 30 years

DOGME 95 – 30th anniversary of a cinematographic manifesto 

BOZAR invites you to celebrate an artistic insurrection 

To mark the Danish Presidency of the Council of Europe and the 30th anniversary of the Dogme 95 Manifesto, Bozar is celebrating a movement that stripped cinema of its artifice to rediscover the raw power of the image, the urgency of reality and the truth of emotions.   

In 1995, Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg signed a manifesto breaking with Hollywood and the old avant-gardes, affirming a collective vision of cinema, far from the myth of the solitary auteur, in a sincere and essential gesture. Dogme 95 rejects illusionist cinema through strict rules known as the Vow of Chastity. Hand-held camerawork, natural light and pared back storytelling: these films turned the industry on its head by reviving authenticity. What began as a provocation became a worldwide phenomenon, inviting filmmakers and audiences to rethink the foundations of cinema. 

To celebrate this anniversary, Bozar and De Cinema are screening five iconic films of the movement, alongside by meetings with guests: Festen by Thomas Vinterberg, The Idiots by Lars Von Trier, Open Hearts by Susanne Bier and Italian for Beginners by Lone Scherfig.

In 2025, history is repeating itself: at the last Cannes Film Festival, a collective of producers, filmmakers and visual artists launched the Dogme 25 Manifesto, a new provocation to the global film industry. Based on this renewed movement, Bozar proposes a reflection on the future of cinema as a space of artistic urgency and creative freedom, freed from the constraints of entertainment.