13/10/2025 - The new Danish film movement, inspired by DOGMA 95, begins with the Swedish director’s intimate BDSM-themed drama, set to premiere in autumn 2026

Isabella Eklöf writing the film title and drawing an illustration to accompany it, which marked the official start of production (© Zentropa)

A symbolic ceremony at Zentropa’s headquarters in Filmbyen marked the official launch of the first film under the newly established DOGMA 25 movement. Titled MR. NAWASHI, the project will be directed by Swedish writer-director Isabella Eklöf and becomes the inaugural entry in the collective’s ambitious artistic experiment.

The event took place on 6 October at 4 pm, when Eklöf read aloud the movement’s “Chastity Vow” and its ten rules, before painting a countdown column on the wall to symbolise the one-year period that each DOGMA 25 director has to complete their movie. As tradition has it, the filmmaker handwrote the film’s title on recycled paper, accompanied by a small drawing, marking the official start of production.

Eklöf immediately began writing the screenplay for what will be DOGMA 25 #1, with the film scheduled to be completed by 6 October 2026, in accordance with the strict rules of the new vow. Little is known about the project beyond its official pitch: “A BDSM love story.” The director commented: “Zentropa once again shows its trademark fearlessness by backing me and my crazy, self-absorbed experiment of a film project.”

Eklöf made her feature debut with Holiday [+see also:
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interview: Victoria Carmen Sonne
film profile], which won a Bodil Award for Best Film, and followed this up with Kalak [+see also:
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interview: Asta Kamma August
interview: Isabella Eklöf
film profile], based on Kim Leine’s raw, autobiographical novel about his time in Greenland. She also co-wrote Border [+see also:
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interview: Ali Abbasi
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DOGMA 25 was announced in May during the Cannes Film Festival (see the news), exactly 30 years after the original DOGMA 95 movement, which shook the world, with Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg at the forefront. It is a new collective initiative by five prominent Nordic filmmakers: Isabella Eklöf, May el-Toukhy (Queen of Hearts [+see also:
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interview: Gustav Lindh
interview: May el-Toukhy
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interview: Milad Alami
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interview: Annika Berg
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Founded in Copenhagen in spring 2025, the collective aims to preserve the immediacy and authenticity of filmmaking by imposing radical creative restrictions. Among other rules, the script must be written by hand, shooting must take place where the story unfolds, internet use is banned during the creative process, there can be a maximum of ten crew members behind the camera, and at least half of each film must be without dialogue. “Make your film as if it were your last,” reads the final “commandment”.

DOGMA 25 was initiated by el-Toukhy, who brought together the group of directors. The project is being produced in collaboration with Zentropa, DR and Nordisk Film Distribution, ensuring the basic financing needed to realise the films within the strict DOGMA 25 framework. Additional funding is expected as the projects develop. The Danish Film Institute is also supporting the development of the DOGMA project, although it does not normally grant production funding without a completed script.

Producers Louise Vesth and Sisse Graum Jørgensen, both leading figures at Zentropa, oversee the initiative. Their extensive track records include multiple Cannes, Venice and Berlin selections, as well as Oscar-winning productions. MR. NAWASHI is expected to have its world premiere in autumn 2026.