Thirty years after the launch of the Dogma 95 filmmaking movement, five rising Danish filmmakers have launched Dogma 25 in Cannes today (May 17), a manifesto committing them to simliar strict rules of naturalistic filmmaking with an aim to “preserve the originality of cinema and create film on its own terms”.
May el-Toukhy, Milad Alami, Annika Berg, Isabella Eklöf, and Jesper Just have created ‘The Vow of Chastity’ which commits them to various creative and filmmaking principals and 10 rules to “protect the artistic integrity of feature film and create space for uncompromising cinematic storytelling”.
The rules include having no more than 10 people behind the camera, writing the script by hand, only having dialogue in half of the film, using makeup only if part of the narrative, shooting only in the locations where the narrative takes place and acceping financing that does not impact the content.
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Zentropa, broadcaster DR and Nordisk Film Distribution will provide the base funding, with support from the Danish Film Institute.
TrustNordisk will oversee the international sales.
The initiative was launched at a press conference attended by the five filmmakers at the Zentropa villa in Cannes. A banner was unveiled from the balcony of the Nordic House in Square Mérimée, opposite the Palais – in a nod to Dogma 95 member Lars von Trier throwing the original manifesto from a balcony in Paris.
el-Toukhy instigated the initiative in late 2024 and brought on board Zentropa producers and managing directors Louise Vesth and Sisse Graum Jorgensen, in charge of the initiative’s financing and launch.
Dogma 95 was launched in 1995 by filmmakers incluing von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg as a creative exercise in aesthetic restraint. Films produced under the first ‘vow of chastity’ included von Trier’s The Idiots and Vinterberg’s The Celebration.
“We celebrate Dogma 95, the filmmakers who came before us, and those who will come after,” said the five Dogma 25 directors. ”We stand together to defend artistic freedom as a shield against pointlessness and powerlessness. Dogma 25 is a rescue mission and a cultural uprising.”
”In ’95, we made films in the certainty of peace. And created a revolt against conformity. In ’25, new dogmas are created, now in a world of war and uncertainty. We wish you the best of luck on your march toward reconquering Danish film,” said von Trier and Vinterberg in a statement.
The Vow of Chastity: Dogma 25 manifesto
DOGMA 25 is a collective of filmmakers founded in Copenhagen in the spring of 2025. Our stated purpose is to preserve the originality of cinema and the opportunity to create film on its own terms.
The role of the director has increasingly been reduced to that of project manager, the film to a commodity, and the audience to consumers. Experimental practice is stifled by fear of risk- taking, which suffocates artistic exploration and silences unique voices. When films are merely executed and not allowed to evolve organically, it puts the art form in danger of becoming functional, obedient and thereby irrelevant.
In a world where formulaic films based on algorithms and artificial visual expression are gaining traction, it’s our mission to stand up for the flawed, distinct, and human imprint. We champion the uncompromising and unpredictable and we fight the forces working to reduce cinematic art to an ultra-processed consumer good.
By scaling down production, we ensure that everyone on the team has an intimate relationship with the film and its message. This will enhance mutual trust and a sense of collective responsibility for the film and for each other. It also allows us to safeguard the flexibility that is vital in making a creative process dynamic and intuitive, rather than purely executive.
We celebrate DOGMA 95, all the filmmakers who came before us, and those who will come after. We stand together to defend artistic freedom as a shield against pointlessness and powerlessness. DOGMA 25 is a rescue mission and a cultural uprising.
To protect and preserve what we hold dear, we hereby submit to the unflinching and unbreakable set of rules called: THE VOW OF CHASTITY.
THE VOW OF CHASTITY:
I vow to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by DOGMA 25:
1. The script must be original and handwritten by the director.
We compel ourselves to write the script by hand in order to nurture the kind of intuition that flows most freely from the dream, channelled through the hand onto the paper.
2. At least half the film must be without dialogue.
We insist on a cinematic approach to filmmaking, because we believe in visual storytelling and have faith in the audience.
3. The internet is off limits in all creative processes.
We commit to produce the films relying on real people within our physical reality – rather than in a digital one infused with algorithms.
4. We’ll only accept funding with no content altering conditions attached.
We assume responsibility for keeping budgets down so the team retains final say in all artistic decisions.
5. No more than 10 people behind the camera.
We commit to working in close collaborations to build trust and strengthen our shared vision.
6. The film must be shot where the narrative takes place.
Film as an art form becomes artificial and generic when we portray a location in a false light.
7. We’re not allowed to use make-up or manipulate faces and bodies unless it’s part of the narrative.
Just as we strive to maintain the authenticity of the location, we also want to portray the human body without a filter. We celebrate it – warts and all.
8. Everything relating to the film’s production must be rented, borrowed, found, or used.
We commit to making films using objects that already exist and renounce the ahistorical and self-destructive culture of consumerism.
9. The film must be made in no more than one year.
We abstain from any lengthy processes that stand in the way of creative flow.
10. Create the film as if it were your last.
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