Henning Carlsen (4 June 1927 – 30 May 2014) was a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer most noted for his documentaries and his contributions to the style of

cinéma vérité Cinéma vérité (, , ; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or ...

. Carlsen's 1966 social-realistic drama ''

Hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...

'' (''Sult'') was nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

and won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. Carlsen also won the Bodil Award the following year for the comedy '' People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart''. Acting as his own producer since 1960, Carlsen has directed more than 25 films, 19 for which he wrote the screenplay. In 2006, he received the Golden Swan Lifetime Achievement Award at the Copenhagen International Film Festival."Hæder til Henning Carlsen"
'' DR'', dr.dk news, 29 August 2006, retrieved 16 June 2009

Early life

Carlsen was born on 4 June 1927 in Aalborg, Denmark. In 1948, Carlsen became an assistant director at Minerva Film where he received on-the-job training. He worked at Minerva until 1953 when he shifted to

Nordisk Film Nordisk Film A/S (lit. "Nordic Film") is a Danish entertainment company established in 1906 in Copenhagen by filmmaker Ole Olsen. It is the fourth-oldest film studio in the world behind the Gaumont Film Company, Pathé, and Titanus ...

Career

Carlsen began by writing and directing short documentaries and industry films, and with this background he flourished in the production of the

style. His documentary trilogy, ''De Gamle'' (''The Elderly'' – 1961)), ''Familiebilleder'' (''Family pictures''- 1964) and ''Ung'' (''Youth'' – 1965), created a classic portrait of 1960s Denmark as the nation revolutionized and transformed into a modern welfare society Especially noted was Carlsen's technique of rhythmic editing in ''De Gamle'' which produced a lyrical portrait of retirees without any needed commentary. In 1962, Carlsen continued in cinéma vérité style with his first feature film: the harsh social drama '' Dilemma'', released as ''A World of Strangers'' in the UK due to a naming conflict. Based upon the Nadine Gordimer's 1958 novel about

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, the movie was shot covertly on location in South Africa through Carlsen's use of a hidden camera. He followed this effort with the 1966 drama ''

'' (''Sult'') based upon the autobiographical novel of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

author

Knut Hamsun Knut Hamsun (4 August 1859 – 19 February 1952) was a Norwegian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1920. Hamsun's work spans more than 70 years and shows variation with regard to consciousness, subject, Point of view ...

. With its stark focus on a life of poverty and desperation, the film is considered a masterpiece of

social realism Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

and is one of the ten films listed in Denmark's cultural canon by the Danish Ministry of Culture. Carlsen was nominated for the

and won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. The following year, Carlsen changed pace from his realistic dramas and made the comedy '' People Meet and Sweet Music Fills the Heart'' (''Mennesker mødes og sød musik opstår i hjertet'') based on the work of Jens August Schade. Again, he was awarded the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film. During his career, Carlsen has maintained interest in popular comedies with such films as '' Oh, to Be on the Bandwagon!'' ('' Man sku være noget ved musikken''), in collaboration with

Benny Andersen Benny Andersen (7 November 1929 – 16 August 2018)Benny Andersen er død
'' I Wonder Who's Kissing You Now?''. In 1967, Carlsen returned to the same format of social realism he used in ''Sult'' with the drama ''We are All Demons'' (''Klaubauterman''), a story based upon a novel by Axel Sandemose. In 1986, Carlsen filmed the international production ''Wolf at the Door'' starring Donald Sutherland. During his career, Carlsen has written 19 films and directed 21. He has also directed for both theater and television. Since 1966, Carlsen has been a teacher and member of the advisory council for the National Film School in Denmark. In 2006, Carlsen was the recipient of the Golden Swan Lifetime Achievement Award at the Copenhagen Film Festival. In 2012 Carlsen received an honorary

Robert Award The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, hono ...

for his body of work. He also released his film, '' Memoria de Mis Putas Tristes'' (''Memories of My Melancholy Whores''), adapted from the 2004 novel by

Gabriel García Márquez Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter, and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one ...

Books

Carlsen has written two books. The first, '' Mit livs fortrængninger'' (English: ''My Life's Forgettings''), is an autobiography published in 1998 in Danish. ''Flyvske billeder'' (English: ''Images in Flight'') is a history of the realisation of film and flight from the perspective of human development.

Personal life

Carlsen Henning was married the first time to Hjørdis Wirth Jensen. In 1975 he married a second time with film consultant Else Heidary. He died at the age of 86 on 30 May 2014.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Henning Carlsen
at Det Danske Filminstitut
Henning Carlsen
at The Danish Film Database (in Danish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlsen, Henning 1927 births 2014 deaths Danish male screenwriters Danish film directors People from Aalborg