Programme

‘Dogme 95 is a rescue action!’ So proclaimed by its founders.

Created by Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg in 1995, the manifesto deliberately mimicked François Truffaut's ‘Une certaine tendance du cinéma français,’ the Cahiers du Cinéma article that kickstarted the French New Wave in 1954. Over and beyond, it reflects their ambition – to launch a movement that returns filmmaking to its root: the pursuit of cinematic truth.

A backlash against big-budget productions and technical manipulations prevalent in the mainstream cinema, the Dogme 95 manifesto, known as the ‘Vow of Chastity,’ set forth ten severe back-to-naturalism commandments that reject the trickery of filmic illusions, while emphasising authenticity, realism and the power of storytelling. These rules, including shooting on location, using only natural light and handheld cameras, aim to create a more honest and immersive cinematic experience.

The success of Vinterberg’s Dogme #1, The Celebration, and von Trier’s Dogme #2, The Idiots, at Cannes put the movement on the international scene. While each achieves significant impacts for its improvisation and provocation, neither is chaste in attitude (both directors admitted to breaking some rules in their own films). The movement is no lack of criticism for being gimmicky and pretentious, and the claims such as ‘I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste!’ sound more like a publicity stunt than a bona fide artistic statement.

A rejection of a post-modernist stance, Dogme 95 adores an attitude of irony and playfulness. Its advocation of ascetic aesthetics, that ensures the audience is aware of the film’s artificiality, and that the filmed subject is in no way presented as reality in itself, bespeaks a mistrust of art as the representation of a given reality.

Having delivered 35 films under the Dogme brand, the movement was dissolved in 2005, on the 10th anniversary of its founding. Despite criticisms and controversies, its impact cannot be denied. Its philosophy of simplicity and authenticity still inspires independent and low-budget filmmakers, and resonates in the ongoing debate about the nature of filmmaking – and even beyond cinema. From ‘Dogme design’ to ‘Dogme fashion’ and ‘Dogme cuisine,’ the Dogme 95 legacy, through acquiring a new form of ‘reality’ in itself, has called for its own resurrection.

(Note: Dogme 95 argues against the artifice of cinema and technical cosmetics. The resolution and visual quality of its films may, therefore, be deliberately done to achieve a level below the mainstream standard. Kindly note that it’s part of the movement’s ideology.)