Zentropa

History

It has produced over 70 feature films and has become the largest film production company in Scandinavia. It owns a number of subsidiary companies in Europe. Zentropa is also responsible for creating a large studio complex called Filmbyen (Film City), where both Zentropa and many other film-related companies are located.

Zentropa may be best known for creating the Dogme 95 movement, leading to such acclaimed films as Idioterne (1998), Festen (1998) and Mifunes sidste sang (1999).

In 1998, von Trier made history by having his company Zentropa to be the world's first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornographic films, under the division Puzzy Power. Three of these films, Constance (1998), Pink Prison (1999), and the adult/mainstream crossover-feature All About Anna (2005), were made primarily for a female audience and were extremely successful in Europe, with the first two being directly responsible for the legalising of pornography in Norway in March 2006.{{Quotation| Women too like to see other people having sex. What they don't like is the endless close-ups of hammering bodyparts without a story. Von Trier is the first to have realised this and produced valuable quality porn films for women. | Stern No. 40, 27 September 2007

Sexual harassment allegations

In November 2017, in the wake of the Me Too movement, nine women – all former employees at Zentropa – spoke of an "ingrained" culture of abuse at the studio. Several of those interviewed said that their treatment had prompted them to stop working in the film industry altogether. Jensen, the company's co-founder, was specifically accused of sexual misconduct and sidelined from operations. An internal memo stated that he would no longer exercise "influence on the daily leadership of the company [and] will not partake in any management meetings." According to von Trier, Jensen stepped down and passed to Anders Kjaerhauge as CEO of Zentropa when the former's further allegations of harassment came to light.

Selected productions

Subsidiaries

• EF Rental
• Electric Parc
• Puzzy Power
• Trust Film Sales
• Zentropa Real
• Zentropa Interaction
• Zentropa Rekorder
• Zentropa Klippegangen
• Zentropa International Köln GmbH
• Zentropa International Poland
• Zentropa Netherlands
• Zentropa International Sweden

Awards

Zentropa won many awards and nominations from local ceremonies including Robert and Bodil, as well as two Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for In a Better World and Another Round, both were directed by critically acclaimed Dogme 95-competitors Susanne Bier and Thomas Vinterberg.

References

References

1. (31 August 2012). "Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema". Scarecrow Press.
2. Angus Finney. (10 October 2014). "The International Film Business: A Market Guide Beyond Hollywood". Routledge.
3. Anne Mette Lundtofte. (13 May 2013). "Zentropia". Gyldendal.
4. Palgrave Connect (Online Service). (11 December 2013). "Behind the Screen: Inside European Production Cultures". Palgrave Macmillan.
5. "Norwegian Media Authority none-censorship decision".
6. ''Stern'' No. 40, 27 September 2007
7. Thomas Vilhelm: ''Filmbyen'' (Ekstra Bladets Forlag, 2003, {{ISBN. 978-87-7731-274-8), page 74
8. ''Cosmopolitan'' (German edition), July 2009, page 30
9. (13 November 2017). "Danish authorities investigating claims of sexual abuse at Lars von Trier's studio Zentropa".
10. (13 November 2017). "Danish Authorities to Investigate Sexual Harassment Claims Against Zentropa Co-Founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen".
11. [https://variety.com/2017/film/news/zentropa-sidelines-peter-aalbaek-jensen-sexual-harassment-1202615496/ Zentropa Sidelines Co-Founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen Amid Harassment Allegations, Elsa Keslassy, ''Variety'', November 15, 2017]
12. Mitchell, Wendy. (2022-05-15). "The Euro 75: Zentropa (Denmark)".
13. (2018-05-10). "Lars von Trier producer: 'I'll stop slapping asses' in wake of #MeToo".