21/11/2005

The Nordisk Film Prize of DKK99,000 handed out every year by the Scandinavian entertainment major Nordisk Film to one or more persons who have made a big and invaluable effort in Danish film, or to a new talent, was awarded last Friday evening to the 33-year old writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen.

2005 is indeed a crucial year for Thomas Jensen whose third feature film as a writer/director, Adam’s Apples [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anders Thomas Jensen
interview: Mads Mikkelsen
interview: Tivi Magnusson
film profile] is the Danish entry at the upcoming Academy Awards nominations and one of his two scripts–with Susanne Bier’s Brothers [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - nominated at this year’s European Film Awards. But if 2005 seems to be a landmark year in his career, it is just a new momentum in the young film marvel’s meteoric rise who in only ten years has become one of the-if not THE- most important creator in Danish cinema, representing by himself 40% of Danish film production between the films he writes and directs or writes only.
The Nordisk Film Award committee said about Thomas Jensen: «he has become a crucial person in the Danish film world and a professional main source who is both a crusader in the fight against political correctness and at the same time a superior storyteller who grapples with the big issues in life».

The self-taught Anders Thomas Jensen first made a name for himself with his 1996 short film Ernst the Light co-directed by Thomas Villum Jensen which was nominated for an Academy Award. The following year, his short film Wolfgang was also nominated in Hollywood and in 1998, he finally won an Oscar for his short film Election Night, all of them produced by M&M Production. Now Thomas Jensen has written over 20 scripts -often for Susanne Bier, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Thomas Villum Jensen- and directed three films: Flickering Lights in 2000, The Green Butchers [+see also:
trailer
film profile] in 2003 and Adam’s Apples. The vast majority of his scripts and films have been very successful in Denmark, in particular with the 20-30+ audience who relates to his description of contemporary Denmark, with stories about male friendship, somewhat difficult relationships with women, written in his very personal black humour.

One of Thomas Jensen’s new scripts to be directed by his friend Thomas Villum Jensen is Explosive Bomb produced by Nordisk Film with a delivery date set for September 2006.