Often thought to be on the verge of extinction, the Danish Dogme-movement fathered by Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg back in 1995, is as alive and kicking as ever.

The success of Annette K. Olesen's Berlin competition entry In Your Hands, which despite its dark themes won acclaim after screening on Sunday, has convinced Zentropa and Nimbus Film that they have no reason to stop producing Dogme films.

Sales so far include Triangle Film for Sweden, Budapest Film for Hungary Poly Film for Austria, Concorde in Germany, Maywin Media for Russia and Frenetic for Switzerland.

"It's all about asking the right people to do it, and getting experienced filmmakers" says veteran producer Ib Tardini, who so far has produced more of them than anyone else, and calls working with the rules "fun and conflict-free!"

However, he warns against putting standard fare into Dogme-clothes. "If you are not willing to do it straight, you loose the whole point. He adds that many film-makers are 'pissed off' by the conditions to start with, but eventually learn to think differently and solve problems in new ways.

Though the Dogme budgets have gone up somewhat since the early films - from Italian For Beginners' DKR8m to In Your Hands' DKR10m - financing them is as easy as it has always been.

With just three partners - the production company, Denmark's national broadcaster DR and the Danish Film Institute - each taking a third, all the films have so far grossed more than they cost - even the ones that underperformed at the box-office.

Zentropa currently has no new Dogme films ready to roll but is negotiating with filmmakers like veteran Nils Malmros (Facing The Truth).

Nimbus Film has been preparing two new films with directors Charlotte Sachs Bostrup (Anja And Viktor) and Dagur Kari (Noi Albinoi).

However, the latter recently decided that his film shouldn't be made strictly according to the Dogme rules, though he developed it as one. "We will continue to do Dogme as long as there are filmmakers interested in doing them," says Bo Ehrhardt of Nimbus Film.

In Your Hands is the 34th Dogme film and the tenth Danish one.