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Bille August

Danish film director and screenwriter

Summary

Danish film director and screenwriter

Field	Value
name	Bille August
honorific_suffix	R.
image	Bille August (cropped).jpg
caption	August in 2008
birth_date
birth_place	Brede, Denmark
occupation	Film director
years_active	1978–present
spouse	{{plainlist
* {{marriage	Pernilla August	1991	1997	end	div}}
* {{marriage	Sara-Marie Maltha	2012	2024	end	div}}
children	8, including Anders, Asta, Alba, and Amaryllis

Bille August R. (; born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television.

August's 1987 film Pelle the Conqueror won the Palme d'Or, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award. He is one of only ten directors to win the Palme d'Or twice, winning the award again in 1992 for The Best Intentions, based on the autobiographical script by Ingmar Bergman.

His filmography includes The House of the Spirits, based on the novel by Isabel Allende; Smilla's Sense of Snow; Les Misérables; Night Train to Lisbon, Silent Heart, The Chinese Widow and A Fortunate Man. He has received five Robert Awards (including Best Film and Best Director) and three Bodil Awards for Best Danish Film. He is also a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.

Life and career

August was born on 9 November 1948, in Brede, Denmark. After attending local schools, he graduated from the Foto- och Dokumentärskolan in Stockholm, Sweden, and later from the National Film School of Denmark. He began his career as a cinematographer. He made his feature directorial debut in 1978 with In My Life, which won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film.

He collaborated twice with then wife Pernilla August under George Lucas on The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones in The Perils of Cupid and Tales of Innocence. Pernilla would later star in the first two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and appeared in an episode of The Clone Wars television series to reprise her role from the films.

After decades of writing, directing and producing notable films in Denmark, on 23 September 2011, Bille August announced that he had opened a studio in Hangzhou, China and taken a position as Tianpeng Media's Art Director, in order to produce Chinese films for Tianpeng Media over the next few years. Tianpeng Media is a new media company established in 2010. The company produced two films, The Women Knight of Mirror (竞雄女侠秋瑾) and The Years of Qi Xiao Fu (七小福之燃情岁月), to be released later in 2011. He is the first foreign director to be hired by the Chinese film company. In 2011, August also accepted the invitation from the Hangzhou government to serve as a "culture consultant" for the city.

His film Night Train to Lisbon (2013) premiered out of competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival. He had planned to direct a Gianni Versace biopic with Antonio Banderas as Versace, but this project was cancelled. In August 2021, it was announced that August would direct a feature film adaptation of Karen Blixen's novel Ehrengard, which is being produced by Netflix and SF Studios.

Filmography

Film

Director

Year	Title	Writer	Notes
1978	In My Life
1983	Zappa
1984	Busters verden
Twist and Shout
1987	Pelle the Conqueror
1992	The Best Intentions
1993	The House of the Spirits
1996	Jerusalem
1997	Smilla's Sense of Snow
1998	Les Misérables
2001	A Song for Martin		Also producer
2004	Return to Sender
2007	Goodbye Bafana
To Each His Own Cinema		Segment "The Last Dating Show"
2012	The Passion of Marie
2013	Night Train to Lisbon
2014	Silent Heart
2017	The Chinese Widow
55 Steps
2018	A Fortunate Man
2021	The Pact
2022	The Kiss
2023	Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction

Director of photography

Year	Title	Director
1977	Christiania	Flemming Colstrup
Ove Nyholm	Documentary film
Hemåt i natten	Jon Lindström
1978	Men Can't Be Raped	Jörn Donner
1980	Love	Theodor Kallifatides
Mördare! Mördare!	Jon Lindström
Tomas: A Child You Cannot Reach	Lone Hertz	Documentary film
1981	Killing Heat	Michael Raeburn
1982	Sova räv	Gun Jönsson

Television

Miniseries

Year	Title	Director	Writer
1978	Et par dage med Magnus
2024	The Count of Monte Cristo

TV movies

Year	Title	Director	Writer
1980	Verden er så stor, så stor
1982	Maj
2003	Detaljer

TV series

Year	Title	Notes
1993	The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Title	Notes
1978	In My Life	Bodil Award for Best Danish Film
Nominated- Chicago Gold Hugo
Nominated- Golden Moscow Prize
1983	Zappa	Nominated- Golden Moscow Prize
1984	Busters verden	UNICEF Award
C.I.F.E.J. Prize of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth
Twist and Shout	Robert Award for Best Screenplay
UNICEF Award
C.I.F.E.J. Prize of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth
Nominated- Golden Moscow Prize
1987	Pelle the Conqueror	Palme d'Or
Bodil Award for Best Danish Film
Robert Award for Best Danish Film
Robert Award for Best Screenplay
Guldbagge Award for Best Film
Nominated- César Award for Best European Film
1992	The Best Intentions	Palme d'Or
Nominated- Guldbagge Award for Best Director
1993	The House of the Spirits	Robert Award for Best Danish Film
Robert Award for Best Screenplay
1996	Jerusalem	Lübeck Nordic Film Days
1997	Smilla's Sense of Snow	url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1997/02_programm_1997/02_Programm_1997.html	title=Berlinale: 1997 Programme	work=berlinale.de	access-date=12 January 2012}}
1998	Les Misérables	Nominated- Golden Cairo Pyramid Award
2001	A Song for Martin	Nominated- Bodil Award for Best Danish Film
Nominated- Crystal Globe
Nominated- Guldbagge Award for Best Director
Nominated- Guldbagge Award for Best Screenplay
Nominated- Golden Festroia Dolphin
Nominated- Miami Grand Jury Prize
2007	Goodbye Bafana	Berlin Peace Film Award
Capri Arts Award
Nominated- Golden Berlin Bear
2012	The Passion of Marie	Nominated- Chicago Gold Hugo
2014	Silent Heart	Bodil Award for Best Danish Film
Nominated- Robert Award for Best Danish Film
Nominated- Robert Award for Best Director
Nominated- Robert Audience Award
Nominated- Nordic Council Film Prize
Nominated- Golden Shell
2017	The Chinese Widow	Nominated- Shanghai Golden Goblet Award for Best Feature Film
2018	A Fortunate Man	Beijing Tiantian Award for Best Film
Nominated- Robert Award for Best Danish Film
Nominated- Robert Award for Best Director
Nominated- Robert Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated- Filmfest Hamburg Critics Choice Award
2021	The Pact	Nominated- Beijing Tiantian Award for Best Film

References

(2007). "501 Movie Directors". Cassell Illustrated.
(10 April 2011). "Academy Award-winning director Bille August opens his studio in Hangzhou". Asia Pacific arts.
"Berlinale 2013: Competition Now Complete". berlinale.
"Antonio Banderas Cancels 'Versace' Project". The Hollywood Reporter.
"Bille August Set to Direct ''Versace'' Biopic With Antonio Banderas".
Grater, Tom. (31 August 2021). "Bille August To Direct Karen Blixen's ''Ehrengard'' For Netflix & SF Studios".
"Busters Verden Awards". IMDb.
"Festival de Cannes: Pelle the Conqueror". festival-cannes.com.
(15 March 2014). "Pelle Erobreren (1987)". Swedish Film Institute.
"Festival de Cannes: The Best Intentions". festival-cannes.com.
"Berlinale: 1997 Programme". berlinale.de.
Uhr, 13 Februar 2007 14:05. "Starrummel bei Berlinale: Richard Gere spielte am Piano auf".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1948-births living-people bille-august people-from-lyngby-taarbæk-municipality danish-film-directors danish-male-screenwriters danish-cinematographers directors-of-palme-d'or-winners directors-of-best-foreign-language-film-academy-award-winners knights-of-the-order-of-the-dannebrog

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