Dogme 95

In March 1995 the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, with Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Kristian Levring, signed a manifesto called the Vow of Chastity. Films had to be shot on location with a handheld camera, with natural light, sound and music only from the scene, and no special effects. Vinterberg's The Celebration (1998) and von Trier's The Idiots (1998) were the first two Dogme films. Dozens more followed around the world, including Lone Scherfig's Italian for Beginners and Susanne Bier's Open Hearts. The rules were often bent, and by the mid-2000s the movement had faded, but its raw look and its idea of limits as freedom remained.

Where

Denmark, then many countries

When

1995 to the mid-2000s

Key figures

Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Kristian Levring, Lone Scherfig, Susanne Bier, Harmony Korine

Landmark films

The Celebration (1998), The Idiots (1998), Mifune's Last Song (1999), Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), Italian for Beginners (2000)

Legacy

A way of making small, raw films with almost no money, which still inspires low-budget digital filmmaking

What to look for

• Handheld, shaky camera and natural light
• No added music and no props brought in from outside
• Raw performances, often near-improvised, with the story and the emotion in front