The Cannes board of directors have taken the unprecedented step of declaring controversial Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier a ‘persona non grata’ and expelled him from the festival.
The Antichrist director, who won Cannes’ prestigous Palme d’Or in 2000 for Dancing in the Dark, was booted from the festival after making a rambling train-of-thought speech while publicising his latest work, Melancholia, in which he appeared to praise Nazism.
In a written statement, the Cannes board of directors have said that they and the festival “firmly condemns these comments and declares Lars von Trier a persona non grata at the festival.”
The board “profoundly regrets that this forum has been used by Lars von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival.”
Despite later protesting that his comments were made in jest, Von Trier managed to stun reporters and Melancholia star Kirsen Dunst at a press conference for the film, after being asked expand on what one reporter described as the filmmaker’s ‘Nazi aesthetic’.
“I thought I was a Jew for a long time and was very happy being a Jew,” replied Von Trier.
“Then later on came [Jewish and Danish director] Susanne Bier and then suddenly I wasn’t so happy about being a Jew. No, that was a joke, sorry.”
“But it turned out I was not a Jew but even if I’d been a Jew I would be kind of a second rate Jew because there is kind of a hierarchy in the Jewish population.”
Von Trier was apparently told by his mother on deathbed that his father, Ulf Trier, was not his biological father. His mother had instead had a tryst with a German named Fritz Michael Hartmann.
“But anyway, I really wanted to be a Jew and then I found out I was really a Nazi, you know, because my family was German … which also gave me some pleasure.”
It has not yet been confirmed whether the fallout regarding Von Trier’s expulsion means that Melancholia, which screened yesterday to a mixed response, will be eligible for prizes at the festival.
