The Sonning Prize is a Danish award given to someone who has made outstanding contributions to European culture. Previous winners include Winston Churchill and Bertrand Russell, as well as directors Ingmar Bergman and Michael Haneke. Well, this year, they’re adding another name to the list – Lars von Trier.
And before von Trier can accept the prestigious award, he sat down with Peter Schepelern, an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen to give one of the most interesting interviews you’ll watch all year. Over the course of the 25-minute interview, you’ll see von Trier discuss his career, his method, awards, and his recent struggles with alcoholism.
Much like his films, von Trier isn’t one to hold back. Frankly, this interview has an almost somber tone, as von Trier reflects on his life and his anxiety. You get the feeling that at any moment, von Trier might actually start crying.
He begins the discussion by lamenting about how film festivals are bogus. The filmmaker says that most film festivals award “middle-of-the-road films” because of having to reach a consensus. When asked if his Palme d’Or for “Dancer in the Dark” made that film a “middle-of-the-road” project, he conceded that yes it did. However, it was more an award for the “entirety of the work,” therefore a more “honorable” win than “accidentally making a film that is popular with a jury.”
The quote of the interview might be when he was if he avoids watching new films. “Yes, I try to avoid watching new films. Because the worst thing that could happen would be that I got excited about something,” said von Trier.
Overall, the interview is a must-see for fans of von Trier or just fans of interesting filmmakers. Interviews with folks like Spielberg come off very planned and forced, but this is the rare example of a filmmaker with something to say and isn’t guarded at all.