Zentropa, or Zentropa Entertainments, is a Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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).[4]
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.[5]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.[7] 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".[8]
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.[9][10] 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."[11] According to von Trier, Jensen stepped down and passed to Anders Kjaerhauge as CEO of Zentropa[12] when the former's further allegations of harassment came to light.[13]
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.
External links
References
- Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Cinema Scarecrow Press, 31 August 2012^
- Angus Finney. The International Film Business: A Market Guide Beyond Hollywood Routledge, 10 October 2014^
- Anne Mette Lundtofte. Zentropia Gyldendal, 13 May 2013^
- Palgrave Connect (Online Service). Behind the Screen: Inside European Production Cultures Palgrave Macmillan, 11 December 2013^
- Norwegian Media Authority none-censorship decision retrieved 15 July 2010^
- Stern No. 40, 27 September 2007^
- Thomas Vilhelm: Filmbyen (Ekstra Bladets Forlag, 2003, ISBN 978-87-7731-274-8), page 74^
- Cosmopolitan (German edition), July 2009, page 30^
- Danish authorities investigating claims of sexual abuse at Lars von Trier's studio Zentropa 13 November 2017^
- Danish Authorities to Investigate Sexual Harassment Claims Against Zentropa Co-Founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen 13 November 2017, retrieved 19 February 2020^
- Zentropa Sidelines Co-Founder Peter Aalbæk Jensen Amid Harassment Allegations, Elsa Keslassy, Variety, November 15, 2017^
- Wendy Mitchell. The Euro 75: Zentropa (Denmark) Screen, 2022-05-15, retrieved 2023-02-23^
- Lars von Trier producer: 'I'll stop slapping asses' in wake of #MeToo the Guardian, 2018-05-10, retrieved 2022-09-02^