The National Film School of Denmark ( da, Den Danske Filmskole) is an independent institution under the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was established in 1966 and is based on Holmen in the harbour of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

History

The National Danish Film School was established in 1966 under the Danish Film Institute with and Jens Christian Lauritzen as the driving forces and the latter as the institution's first principal. In 1988 the school became an independent institution and in 1998 the school—until then spread out on several addresses—relocated to its current premises on Holmen as part of the Danish Centre for Artistic Educations.

Courses

There are seven study programmes available: fiction directing, documentary directing, cinematography, script writing, editing, sound, animation and games directing, and film producing. The number of students is 96: 60 film students, 6 scriptwriters, 18 TV students and 12 animation directors. All courses are 4-year programmes, except the animation and games directing course which lasts 4½ years. The school is an art school but practical knowledge is also very important. The teaching programme is a mixture of theoretical and practical training and includes a large number of exercises and productions. The students' final project is a film produced on a professional level and presented to the public on national TV. All students must pass an entrance test including both practical exercises and interviews. Director

Poul Nesgaard Poul Nesgaard (born 19 June 1952) is a Danish journalist, television producer and art administrator, currently director of the National Film School of Denmark. Biography Nesgaard started working for national Danish broadcaster DR and over the fol ...

headed the school between 1992 and 2014, when film editor took over. The number of employees amounts to about 50 persons, including teachers, technical and administrative staff. A large number of guest teachers are temporarily employed. The school also arranges courses for film and TV professionals from abroad and seminars with the participation of other

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...

Rectors

Alumni

Åke Sandgren Åke Sandgren (born 13 May 1955) is a Sweden, Swedish-Denmark, Danish film director and screenwriter. He has written and directed a number of films in a variety of genres, mostly in Denmark where he now lives. Biography Sandgren studied Film Sc ...

(1982) * Amanda Kernell *

Anders August Anders Frithiof August (born 15 June 1978 in Copenhagen) is a Danish screenwriter, graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2007. He wrote the short film '' The Pig'', that was nominated for an Oscar in 2009. In 2011 he won the Dan ...

(2007) *

Anders Morgenthaler Anders Morgenthaler (born 5 December 1972) is a Danish comics artist, children's book author, animator and film director. Biography Morgenthaler is a graduate of Designskolen Kolding and the National Film School of Denmark. Having worked as a T ...

(2002) *

Anders Refn Anders Refn (born 8 April 1944) is a Danish film editor and director. Biography Refn graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1969. He has credits for 72 features and TV series, as well as a 10 shorts and 26 documentaries. Refn ...

(1969) * Anthony Dod Mantle (1989) * Bille August (1973, graduated as cinematographer) * (1989) *

Christian Holten Bonke Christian Holten Bonke (born 13 August 1973) is a Danish documentary filmmaker and screenwriter. He has directed music videos, commercials and documentary series for television, most recently ''Uffe’s Alternative.'' (2 episodes, DR 2015). He ...

(2005) * Christoffer Boe (2001) *

Dagur Kári Dagur Kári (born Dagur Kári Pétursson; 12 December 1973) is an Icelandic film director. Early life and education He was born in Paris, France, to Icelandic parents. The family returned to Iceland when he was 3 years old. After attending loca ...

(1999) * Daniel Espinosa (2003) *

Eva Mulvad Eva Mulvad (born 1972) is a Danish documentary film director. She graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 2001. Eva is a director of documentaries for DR TV since 1997. In 2006 she received IDFA Silver Wolf Award and World Cinema ...

(2001) *

Jonas Elmer Jonas Elmer (born 28 February 1988) is a Swiss footballer who currently works for FC Stäfa as a player-assistant coach. Football career Early career Elmer was signed by English Premier League side Chelsea in the summer of 2005 from Grasshopp ...

(1995) *

Katrin Ottarsdóttir Katrin Ottarsdóttir (born 1957) is a Faroese movie director and author. Biography Katrin Ottarsdóttir was born in Tórshavn. While growing up in the Faroes, she did not have television available to her, but enjoyed cinema. She went to Denmark i ...

* Kim Fupz Aakeson (1996) *

Krass Clement Krass Clement Kay Christensen (born 15 March 1946) is a Danish photographer who has specialized in documentary work. He graduated as a film director in Copenhagen but soon turned to still photography, publishing his first book ''Skygger af øjeb ...

(1978) *

Lars Von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes, in addition to nominat ...

(1982) *

Lisa Aschan Daria Sofia Elisabeth (Lisa) Aschan (born 28 February 1978) is a Swedish film director and screenwriter. Early life Aschan grew up on a farm in Vejbystrand. At the age of twelve, she moved to Gothenburg and then studied at a boarding school i ...

* Lone Scherfig (1984) *

Manuel Alberto Claro Manuel Alberto Claro (born 3 April 1970) is a Chilean-Danish cinematographer, filmmaker, and still photographer. He has won numerous accolades, including two Robert Awards, a Bodil Award, and a European Film Award. Life and career Manuel Al ...

(2001) * May el-Toukhy (2009) *

Niels Arden Oplev Niels Arden Oplev (; born 26 March 1961) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. Life and career Oplev was born in Oue, Denmark. His 1996 film ''Portland'' was entered into the 46th Berlin International Film Festival. He directed ''The Gi ...

(1989) *

Ole Christian Madsen Ole Christian Madsen (born 18 June 1966) is a Danish film director and script writer. Among his most successful projects are the movies ''Flame & Citron'', '' Prag'', '' Angels in Fast Motion'' ( da. ''Nordkraft'') and the TV series ''Rejseholdet' ...

(1993) * Per Fly (1993) *

Pernille Fischer Christensen Pernille Fischer Christensen (born 24 December 1969) is a Danish film director and the older sister of actress Stine Fischer Christensen. She started out in the movie business when she was 20 years old as an assistant to . During that time, Gis ...

(1999) *

Peter Flinth Peter Flinth (born 7 November 1964) is a Danish film director. Early life and education Peter Flinth was born on 7 November 1964 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He studied film studies at the University of Copenhagen in 1984-86 and was educated on the D ...

(1993) * (2003) *

Reza Parsa Reza Parsa is a Swedish film director. At the age of 22, he was admitted to the 4-year directing program at the National Film School of Denmark (1991–95) and directed the most award-winning (11 awards) graduation film, ''Never (Gränsen)'', i ...

(1995) *

Rumle Hammerich Jens Peter Hammerich, better known as Rumle Hammerich (born 16 November 1954), is a Danish film director, screenwriter and film company director. He is currently creative director at Nordisk Film. His filmography consists of both feature films an ...

(1979) *

Sami Saif Sami Martin Saif (born 1972) is a Danish award-winning documentary filmmaker. Sami Saif graduated from the National Film School of Denmark in 1997 having made the short ''The UFO War''. He then started work on Danish broadcaster DR mainly in th ...

(1997) * Susanne Bier (1987) * Thomas Vinterberg (1993) *

Tobias Lindholm Tobias Lindholm (born 5 July 1977) is a Danish screenwriter and film director. His 2015 directed film ''A War'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to ''A War'', he has directed the films '' R'' (2010), ...

(2007) *

Vladimir Oravsky Vladimir Oravsky (born 22 January 1947 in Rožňava, Czechoslovakia) is a Swedish author and film director. Before Oravsky decided to be a full-time writer, he made a living in Czechoslovakia as machine engineer and conveyor belt constructor. In ...

(1982)

References

External links

* {{authority control Higher education in Copenhagen

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...