Nils Malmros

Born 1944, Denmark. Graduate of medicine, 1988. Of international renown, Malmros is one of Danish cinema's major auteurs. He was inspired early on by French New Wave. As both screenwriter and director, Malmros maintains a strong autobiographical element in his works, in which nuances of his childhood and youth in Århus can be discerned.

Malmros' breakthrough Lars Ole 5c (1973) is the first part of a trilogy on childhood and adolescence, followed by Boys (1977) and The Tree of Knowledge (1981). The autobiographical inspiration is directly evident in Århus by Night (1989), which replays the making of Boys. Both Pain of Love (1992) and Barbara (1997) were selected for competition in Berlin.

Malmros received several honours for Facing the Truth (2002), including awards at the Sochi and Mar del Plata festivals. Aching Hearts is shot over a period of three years, taking into account the development of the young actors, some of whom are amateurs from the actual milieus Malmros is depicting.
(Danish Film Institute)