Filmmaker Lars von Trier diagnosed with Parkinson’s
COPENHAGEN
Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, known for films like “Melancholia” and “Dancer in the Dark,” has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his production company Zentropa said on Aug. 8.
The company said it released the information in order to avoid speculation about his health leading up to the premiere of his series “The Kingdom Exodus” at the Venice Film Festival next month. Zentropa said von Trier, 66, was diagnosed at the beginning of the summer.
“Lars is in good spirits and is being treated for his symptoms,” producer Louise Vesth said in a statement. “And the work to complete ‘The Kingdom Exodus’ continues as planned.”
In his four decades of filmmaking, von Trier has won some of the most prestigious international film awards, including the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or for “Dancer in the Dark.” His films and comments have sometimes stirred up controversy as well. He was famously banned from Cannes for seven years after making comments sympathetic to Nazis during a 2011 press conference. Von Trier returned to the festival in 2018 with the serial killer drama “The House That Jack Built.”
“The Kingdom Exodus” is the third, and final, season of a series which first premiered in 1994 in Denmark but have not been widely available.
