The Hunt(Jagten)

Though Thomas Vinterberg leaves behind many of the groundbreaking Dogme 95 rules that he himself co-wrote with Lars von Trier by returning to a more traditional form of filmmaking on this film (which he likened to ‘putting on an old dress’), the filmmaker nevertheless retained Dogme’s spirit by emphasising captivating storytelling over spectacle. Few films were as prescient about contemporary internet culture as this 2012 Oscar-nominated masterpiece, about a small-town witch hunt that consumes a kindergarten teacher after he is falsely accused of sexually abusing his student. Showing the destructive effects of presumptive judgment, collective demonisation and cancel culture long before they became the internet status quo, Vinterberg raises a controversial debate that has no end in sight.

Cannes Film Festival: Best Actor Award and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury