Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. Zentropa is named after the train company Zentropa in the film Europa (1991), which started the collaboration between von Trier and Jensen.
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.Zentropa's initiative spearheaded a European wave of female-friendly porn films from directors such as Anna Span, Erika Lust and Petra Joy, while von Trier's company Zentropa was forced to abandon the experiment due to pressure from its English business partners.Thomas Vilhelm: Filmbyen (Ekstra Bladets Forlag, 2003, ), page 74 In July 2009, women's magazine Cosmopolitan ranked Pink Prison as No. 1 in its Top Five of the best women's porn, calling it the "role model for the new porn-generation".Cosmopolitan (German edition), July 2009, page 30
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."Zentropa Sidelines Co-Founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen Amid Harassment Allegations, Elsa Keslassy, Variety, November 15, 2017 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
Work Year Director Notes Michael Laudrup: A football player 1993 Jørgen Leth Documentary Family Matters 1993 Susanne Bier Feature 1993 Carsten Sønder Feature Bíódagar 1994 Friðrik Þór Friðriksson Feature The Kingdom 1994 Lars von Trier Miniseries Á köldum klaka 1995 Friðrik Þór Friðriksson Feature Pan 1995 Henning Carlsen Feature 1995 Carsten Rudolf Feature 1995 Carsten Sønder Feature 1995 Feature The Eighteenth 1996 Anders Rønnow Klarlund Feature Harry & Sonja 1996 Björn Runge Feature The Greatest Heroes 1996 Thomas Vinterberg Feature Breaking the waves 1996 Lars von Trier Feature Portland 1996 Niels Arden Oplev Feature The Kingdom II 1997 Lars von Trier Miniseries Credo 1997 Susanne Bier Feature The Last Viking 1997 Jesper W. Nielsen Feature Love Fools 1998 Leif Magnusson Feature Constance 1998 Knud Vesterskov Feature I Wonder Who's Kissing You Now? 1998 Henning Carlsen Feature Pink Prison 1999 Lisbeth Lynghøft Feature Possessed (1999 film) 1999 Anders Rønnow Klarlund Feature A Summer Tale 2000 Ulf Malmros Feature Together 2000 Lukas Moodysson Feature 2000 Katrine Wiedemann Feature 2000 Natasha Arthy Feature Ikingut 2000 Gísli Snær Erlingsson Feature The King Is Alive 2000 Kristian Levring Feature Italian for Beginners 2000 Lone Scherfig Feature HotMen CoolBoyz 2000 Knud Vesterskov FeatureThe Dog Hotel2000Per ÅhlinAnimated feature The Bench 2000 Per Fly Feature Dancer in the dark 2000 Lars von Trier Feature 2000 Feature D-Dag 2001 Lars von Trier, Kristian Levring, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Thomas Vinterberg TV film Chop Chop 2001 Niels Arden Oplev Feature One-Hand Clapping 2001 Gert Fredholm Feature Truly Human 2001 Åke Sandgren Feature House of Hearts 2002 Feature Minor Mishaps 2002 Annette K. Olesen Feature Charlie Butterfly 2002 Dariusz Steiness Feature - Dogville 2003 Lars von Trier Feature Sea of Silence 2003 Stijn Coninx Feature The Five Obstructions 2003 Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth FeatureStrings 2004Anders Rønnow KlarlundAnimated feature 2004 Martin Koolhoven Feature Brothers 2004 Susanne Bier Feature When Children Play in the Sky 2005 Lorenzo Hendel Feature - Manderlay 2005 Lars von Trier Feature All About Anna 2005 Jessica Nilsson Feature Snuppet 2006 Martin Vrede Nielsen Feature The Boss of it All 2006 Lars von Trier Feature Råzone 2006 Christian E. Christiansen Feature The Early Years: Erik Nietzsche Part 1 2007 Jacob Thuesen Feature At Night 2007 Christian E. Christiansen Short fiction Echo 2007 Anders Morgenthaler Feature 2007 Anders Rønnow Klarlund Feature Island of Lost Souls 2007 Nikolaj Arcel Feature Little Soldier 2008 Annette K. Olesen Feature Fear Me Not 2008 Kristian Levring Feature 2008 Gert Fredholm Feature 2008 Feature Zoomers 2009 Christian E. Christiansen FeatureMetropia2009Tarik SalehAnimated feature Mammoth 2009 Lukas Moodysson Feature 2009 Morten Giese Feature The Blessing 2009 Heidi Maria Faisst Feature - Antichrist 2009 Lars von Trier Feature Klown 2010 Mikkel Nørgaard Feature Berik 2010 Daniel Borgman Short fiction Nothing's All Bad 2010 Feature Donkeys 2010 Morag McKinnon Feature Truth About Men 2010 Nikolaj Arcel Feature In a Better World 2010 Susanne Bier Feature; Won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film A Family 2010 Pernille Fischer Christensen Feature The Woman That Dreamed About a Man 2010 Per Fly Feature The Red Chapel 2010 Mads Brügger Documentary Erotic Man 2010 Jørgen Leth Feature - ID A 2011 Christian E. Christiansen Feature Love Is in the Air 2011 Simon Staho FeatureVlogger2011Ricard GrasMachinima; produced as Zentropa International Spain Rebounce 2011 Heidi Maria Faisst Feature Melancholia 2011 Lars von Trier Feature Perfect Sense 2012 David Mackenzie Feature Love Is All You Need 2012 Susanne Bier Feature The Secret Society of Fine Arts 2012 Anders Rønnow Klarlund Feature A Royal Affair 2012 Nikolaj Arcel Feature A Caretaker's Tale 2012 Feature Nymphomaniac 2013 Lars von Trier Feature The Keeper of Lost Causes 2013 Feature - The Hunt 2013 Thomas Vinterberg Feature The Salvation 2014 Kristian Levring Feature The Absent One (2014 film) 2014 Feature 2014 Christian E. Christiansen Feature A Second Chance 2014 Susanne Bier FeatureVitello Dugs a Hole2015Dorte BengtsonAnimated short feature The Model 2015 Feature - The Day Will Come2016Jesper W. NielsenFeatureVitello2018Dorte BengtsonAnimated feature The House That Jack Built 2018 Lars Von Trier Feature2018Christoffer BoeFeature The Other Lamb 2019 Małgorzata Szumowska Feature2019Anders Morgenthaler, Mikael Wulff Animated featureHope2019Maria SødahlFeature Sweat 2020 Magnus von Horn FeatureRiders of Justice2020Anders Thomas JensenFeatureAnother Round2020Thomas VinterbergFeature; Won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film Rushed 2021 Vibeke Muasya FeatureThe Kingdom Exodus2022Lars Von TrierMiniseriesForever2022Frelle PetersenFeatureTogether 99 (Tillsammans 99)2023Lukas MoodyssonFeature filmFamilies Like Ours2024Thomas VinterbergMiniseriesJust Like BeautyTBATBAFeature
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
External links
Filmbyen official site Zentropa at IMDb Interview with Peter Aalbæk Jensen