Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director

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 ...

and producer

Peter Aalbæk Jensen Peter Aalbæk Jensen (born 8 April 1956 in Osted) is a Danish film producer who in 1992 with director Lars von Trier founded the Danish film company Zentropa and later its huge studio complex Filmbyen. His father was writer Erik Aalbæk Jensen. ...

. Zentropa is named after the train company Zentropa in the film ''

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

'' (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 Filmbyen (English: Film City) is a film studio complex located in Hvidovre just outside Copenhagen, Denmark. Filmbyen is a former military base. It houses many film-related companies. Many films and TV-series have been shot there. It was founded b ...

'' (Film City), where both Zentropa and many other film-related companies are located. Zentropa may be best known for creating the

Dogme 95 Dogme 95 is a 1995 avant-garde filmmaking movement founded by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, who created the "Dogme 95 Manifesto" and the "Vows of Chastity" ( da, kyskhedsløfter). These were rules to create films ba ...

movement, leading to such acclaimed films as ''

Idioterne ''The Idiots'' ( da, Idioterne) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film written and directed by Lars von Trier. It is his first film made in compliance with the Dogme 95 Manifesto, and is also known as Dogme #2. It is the second film in von Tr ...

'' (1998), ''

Festen ''The Celebration'' ( da, Festen) is a 1998 Danish dark comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday, juggling subjects of ...

'' (1998) and ''

Mifunes sidste sang ''Mifune'' ( da, Mifunes sidste sang, "Mifune's Last Song") is a 1999 romantic comedy film, it is the third film to be made according to the Dogme 95 group rules. It was directed by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen. The film was a great success in Denmark a ...

'' (1999). In 1998, von Trier made history by having his company Zentropa to be the world's first mainstream film company to produce

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

pornographic film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include eroticall ...

s, under the division

Puzzy Power Puzzy Power (aka HotMale) is a Danish film company started in 1997 as a subsidiary to Lars von Trier's company Zentropa, with the goal of producing hardcore pornographic films for women. It is the only time ever a mainstream film company has openly ...

. Three of these films, ''

Constance Constance may refer to: Places *Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English *Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada * Constance, Kentucky * Constance, Minnesota * Constance (Portugal) * Mount Constance, Washington State People * Consta ...

'' (1998), ''

Pink Prison ''Pink Prison'' is a 1999 erotic film for women, directed by Lisbeth Lynghøft, and produced by Puzzy Power, a division of Lars von Trier's film company Zentropa. As the follow-up to ''Constance'' (1998), it was the second hard-core pornographi ...

'' (1999), and the adult/mainstream crossover-feature ''

All About Anna ''All About Anna'' is a 2005 Danish erotic film directed by Jessica Nilsson and starring Gry Bay and Mark Stevens. The film is explicit in its exploration of sexual relationships. It is a co-production between Innocent Pictures and Lars von Tri ...

'' (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 Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in March 2006.Zentropa's initiative spearheaded a European wave of female-friendly porn films from directors such as

Anna Span Anna Arrowsmith (born Anna Imogen Thompson 15 January 1972), who works under the pseudonym Anna Span, is a former English pornographic film director and producer. She makes frequent public appearances, speaking on sex, pornography and feminism. ...

Erika Lust Erika may refer to: Arts and Entertainment * Hayasaka Erika (''Megatokyo)'' * Erika (''Friends'') * Erika (''Pokémon'') * Erika (''Underworld'') * Erika Itsumi ''(Girls und Panzer)'' * ''Erika'' (film), a 1971 Italian thriller film * "E ...

and

Petra Joy Petra Joy (born 1964 in Kempten, West Germany) is a German feminist film director, film producer, TV producer, distributor, author, and photographer. She lives in Brighton, England. Along with Candida Royalle, Annie Sprinkle, Maria Beatty, and o ...

, while von Trier's company Zentropa was forced to abandon the experiment due to pressure from its English business partners. In July 2009, women's magazine ''

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

'' 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".

Sexual harassment allegations

In November 2017, in the wake of the

Me Too movement #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

, nine women – all former employees at Zentropa – spoke of an "ingrained" culture of abuse at the studio. Several of the 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 ndwill not partake in any management meetings." According to von Trier, Jensen stepped down as CEO of Zentropa when further allegations of harassment came to light.

Selected productions

Subsidiaries

EF Rental EF or ef may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ef (band), a post-rock band from Sweden * '' Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.'', a Japanese adult visual novel series by Minori, or its anime adaptations Businesses and organizations * Eagle Forum, an ...

* Electric Parc *

Trust Film Sales Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...

Zentropa Real 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 col ...

* Zentropa Interaction * Zentropa Rekorder * Zentropa Klippegangen *

Zentropa International Köln GmbH 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 film), Europa'' (1991), whi ...

* Zentropa International Poland * Zentropa International Sweden

Awards

Zentropa won many awards and nominations from local ceremonies including

Robert 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, honou ...

and Bodil, as well as two

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

for ''

In a Better World ''In a Better World'' ( da, Hævnen, "The Revenge") is a 2010 Danish drama thriller film written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier. The film stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in a story which takes pla ...

'' and ''Another Round'', both were directed by critically acclaimed

-competitors

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films ''Brothers'' (2004), '' After the Wedding'' (2006), ''In a Better World'' (2010), and '' Bird Box'' (2018), and the TV miniseries ''The Night Mana ...

and

Thomas Vinterberg Thomas Vinterberg (; born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films ''The Celeb ...

References

External links

* * {{DNFc, 107463
Filmbyen official site

Zentropa at IMDb

Film production companies of Denmark Mass media companies based in Copenhagen Companies based in Hvidovre Municipality Danish companies established in 1992 Danish film studios Danish brands Film distributors Lars von Trier