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Den Danske Filmskole (DDF)

The National Film School of Denmark (DDF)

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  • Basic Facts
  • Mission & Strategy
  • Degree Areas
  • Key Teaching Staff
  • Successful Graduates

Basic Facts

  • Year of Foundation:

    1966

  • Year of Receiving CILECT Full Membership:

    1970

  • Year of Receiving Last State Accreditation:

    1966

  • Agency (-ies) Who Awarded the State Accreditation:

    The Danish Ministry of Culture

  • Name of Director (Rector, Dean, Head of School):

    Tine Fischer

  • Address:

    Theodor Christensens Plads 1, 1437 København K

  • Country:

    Denmark

  • Website:

    https://www.filmskolen.dk

  • Points of Contact

    CILECT Contact Person:
    Director: Tine Fischer
    Email:
    tfi@filmskolen.dk
    CILECT Contact Person:
    Kristine Ploug
    Telephone:
    +45 41 71 88 05
    Email:
    kpl@filmskolen.dk

Mission & Strategy

The National Film School of Denmark is a state school, financially supported by the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

The National Film School of Denmark was founded in 1966 by Theodor Christensen and is beautifully situated on the small island of Frederiksholm in the harbour of Copenhagen.

There are four study programmes available: film, TV, scriptwriting and animation directing. The number of students is approximately 100. All lines of study are 4-year programmes.

The school is an art school which means that the teaching aims at developing and supporting each student’s unique talent.

Degree Areas

Producer / Script Writer / Editor / Cinematographer / Sound Designer / Animation / Director / Documentary Director / Fiction Director

  • Degree Awarded

    Four year programme supported by the Ministry of Culture but currently not part of the European Qualification Framework

  • Training Type

    Full-Time

Tuition Fees

  • Residents

    0

  • Non-Residents

    25.000 Euro/semester

Number of Students

  • Applicants (Male/Female/Other)

    approx. 650 – admission every second year

  • Enrolled Students (Male/Female/Other)

    48

  • Students Total (Male/Female/Other)

    96

  • International Students incl. in Total (Male/Female/Other)

    11

  • Graduates incl. in Total (Male/Female/Other)

    96

Admission Requirements

  • Portfolio & Interview

    Yes

  • Agreements with Foreign Governments

    No information

  • High Institution Matriculation

    No information

  • Recognized Prior Expertise

    Yes

  • Talent Entrance Exams

    Yes

Language of Studies

  • Language of Studies

    Predominantly Danish

Student Practical Work Obligations

  • Fiction Short Films (under 5 min.)

    Yes

  • Fiction Short Films (5-15 min.)

    Yes

  • Fiction Short Films (15-30 min)

    Yes

  • Fiction Short Films (30-60 min)

    Yes

  • Documentary Films (under 30 min)

    Yes

  • Documentary Films (30-60 min)

    Yes

  • Experimental Films

    Yes

  • Interactive Media Applications

    Yes

  • Computer Games

    Yes

  • Project Portfolios

    Yes

Graduation Obligations per Student

  • Practical Work

    Yes

  • Written Thesis

    No information

Budget Parameters

  • Total Amount from School`s Budget Allocated to Production Annually

    approx. 440.000 Euro annually

  • Average Graduation Practical Work Budget per student

    approx. 10.000 euro per student

Key Teaching Staff

Carina Randløv

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Animation Directing

Cat Pattinama Colemann

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Cinematography

Cecilia Lidin

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Documentary Directing

Christian Ballund

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Animation Directing

Dorte Bengtson

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Animation Directing

Esben Toft Jacobsen

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Animation Directing

Henrik Thiesen

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Editing

Jonas Frederiksen

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Producing

Kim Hattesen

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Cinematography

Kim Leona

Field of Teaching: Prorector & Lecturer, Scriptwriting

Louise McLaughlin

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Cinematography

Malene Choi

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Documentary Directing

Nagieb Khaja

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Documentary Directing

Per Damgaard

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Producing

Phie Ambo

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Documentary Directing

Rune Palving

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Sound Editing

Simon Jon Andreasen

Field of Teaching: Head of DADIU

Sofie Marie Kristensen

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Editing

Thomas Howalt

Field of Teaching: Teacher, DADIU

Tzara Tristana

Field of Teaching: Lecturer, Fiction Directing

Successful Graduates

Åke Sandgren

Major Achievements:

Åke Sandgren (born 13 May 1955) is a Swedish-Danish film director and screenwriter. He has written and directed a number of films in a variety of genres, mostly in Denmark where he now lives.

Sandgren studied Film Science and Philosophy at Stockholm University from 1976 to 1979 and then moved to Denmark where he studied film direction at the National Film School of Denmark from 1979 to 1982. After graduation, he worked as a writer and director of films in both Sweden and Denmark.

He won the Golden Bear award for Best Short Film at the 1984 Berlin International Film Festival with his film Cykelsymfonien (The Bicycle Symphony). His 1989 film Miraklet i Valby (Miracle at Valby) won the Grand Prize at the 2nd Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival held in February 1991. It also won the awards for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 25th Guldbagge Awards. He was nominated again for the Guldbagge Award for Best Director in 1993 for the film The Slingshot.

He has collaborated with a number of other Danish film directors including Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, Stig Håkan Larsson, and Lars von Trier.

Amanda Kernell

Major Achievements:

Amanda Kernell (born 9 September 1986) is a Swedish, Southern Sami director and screenwriter.[2] She is best known for the movie Sami Blood, which won several awards.

Kernell received Best Young Director at the Venice Film Festival 2016 where she also received the Europa cinemas label for best European film. Later that year Sami Blood received Jury’s special prize at the Tokyo international film festival. She went on to receive the Nordic film prize at the Gothenburg film festival 2017. In the same year she received Kurt Linder’s scholarship from the Swedish film academy. Sami Blood was awarded four Golden Beetles at the Guldbagge gala in 2018 for best screenplay, best actress (lene Cecilia sparrok), best cut (anders skov) and audience award for best film. Kernell received the Dagens Nyheter Culture Prize in 2018 and the Swedish UN association’s prize for human rights. In 2020 kernell’s film Charter was nominated for Nordic council film prize and the Swedish academy award committee selected it for Sweden’s entry for the Oscar for best international film for 2021 oscars. In December 2020 charter was nominated for guldbaggegalan 2021 in seven categories: best film, best director, best screenplay, best actress (ane dahl torp), best supporting actor (sverrir gudnason), best photo and best film design (sabine hviid).

Christoffer Boe

Major Achievements:

Christoffer Boe (born 1974) is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is an established and well-known not only in Denmark, but all through the world. Among his international awards there are FIPRESCI Director of the Year at San Sebastián International Film Festival and Golden Camera at Cannes Film Festival in 2003. He is also co-founder and director of the film production company AlphaVille Pictures Copenhagen.

Awards:

  • 2003 San Sebastián Film Festival FIPRESCI Director of the Year
  • 2003 Caméra d’Or for Reconstruction
  • 2006 Young Cinema Award at the Venice Film Festival for Offscreen
  • 2006 Altre Visioni Award at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival for Offscreen
  • 2006 win at The Nordic Council Film Prize for Offscreen
  • 2012 Dauphin d’Or at Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards for “We are Maersk”
  • 2015 Dauphin d’Argent at Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards for “Danfoss Engineering Tomorrow”

Thomas Vinterberg

Major Achievements:

Thomas Vinterberg (born 19 May 1969) is a Danish film director who, along with Lars von Trier, co-founded the Dogme 95 movement in filmmaking, which established rules for simplifying movie production. He is best known for the films The Celebration (1998), Submarino (2010), The Hunt (2012), Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), and Another Round (2020). For Another Round, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director (the first Danish filmmaker nominated for the Best Director category) and won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.

Susanne Bier

Major Achievements:

Susanne Bier (born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films Brothers (2004), After the Wedding (2006), In a Better World (2010), and Bird Box (2018), and the TV miniseries The Night Manager (2016) on AMC, The Undoing (2020) on HBO, and The First Lady (2022) on Showtime. Bier is the first female director to win a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award,[2] and a European Film Award, collectively.

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