Jørgen Leth

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Jørgen Leth as he appeared in The Five Obstructions eating an expensive meal in the red light district of Bombay.
Jørgen Leth as he appeared in The Five Obstructions eating an expensive meal in the red light district of Bombay.

Jørgen Leth (born June 14, 1937 in Århus) is a Danish writer and filmmaker.

His first book was published in 1962 and he has written ten volumes of poetry and four non-fiction books. Leth made his first film in 1963, and has since made forty films, many distributed worldwide. His most acclaimed work is the 1967 short film The Perfect Human, which was recently featured in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions by Lars von Trier.

He is divorced, and has a daughter and three sons.

Leth speaks Danish, French and English.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Leth studied literature and anthropology in Aarhus and Copenhagen, and he was a cultural critic (jazz, theater, film) for leading Danish newspapers from 1959 to 1968. He travelled in Africa (1961), South America and India (1966) and Southeast Asia (1970-71).

He was a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute (1971-73, 1975-77) as well as chairman of the board of the Danish Film Institute (1977-82). He has been a professor at the National Film School in Copenhagen, at the State Studiocenter in Oslo and he has lectured at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard and other American universities.

Leth commentated on the Tour de France annually on Danish TV 2 from 1988 through 2005, as the expert commentator in a partnership with journalist Jørn Mader. Leth was let go on October 7, 2005 due to controversy over his autobiography Det uperfekte menneske ("The Imperfect Human"). For much of the year he lives in Jacmel in Haiti. In 1999, Leth was appointed Denmark's honorary consul to Haiti, a post which he renounced on October 7, 2005 following the controversy over his autobiography.

The autobiography included a graphic account of sexual relations with the 17-year-old daughter of his house servant in Haiti. This created a media storm in Denmark, also due, in part, to his plans for filming a movie called Det Erotiske Menneske ("The Erotic Human") which in one scene depicted sexual intercourse between Leth and a Haitian girl who was less than 18 years old. (The age of consent in Denmark is 15, while in Haiti it is 18.) The movie was to be made with funds from the Danish Film Institute, which is supported by the Danish state. This upset several groups in Danish society and Leth eventually resigned his plans, and also several official posts which he held at the time.

Leth has enjoyed retrospective presentations at the National Film Theatre,London 1989; in Rouen, France, 1990; at the American Film Institute, Washington D.C., 1992; in Mumbai, India, 1996; and in New York City,2002; in Sao Paulo, 2003; in Toronto, 2004; in Florence, 2005 and in Rome, 2006.

[edit] Awards

Leth has among others received the following awards:

  • 1971 the Oberhausen Hauptpreis,
  • 1972 the Thomas Mann Award,
  • 1983 the Danish Academy’s Special Prize,
  • 1992 the Paul Hammerich Award,
  • 1995 the Drachmann Award for literary oeuvre,
  • 1996 the Danish Film Academy’s Robert Award,
  • 1997 Prix de France for cultural reporting from France,
  • 1999 the State Art Foundation’s Special Award,
  • 2000 the Danish Film Academy’s Robert Award,
  • 2004 Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the Odense International Film Festival,
  • Recipient of a life-long grant from the Danish State for his achievements in film-making.

[edit] Bibliography

Two biographies about Leth have been published in Denmark.

 Please help improve this section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.
  • The Picture Is Showing, poems (2000)
  • Stories from Haiti (2000)
  • Collected Poems (2002)
  • The Imperfect Human, Scenes from My Life, memoir (2005)
  • It Doesn't Matter, poems (2006).

[edit] Filmography

Tómas Gislason's award-winning documentary-portrait of Leth, "Heart and Soul", was released in 1995.

  • Stopforbud, 1963, 14 min;
  • Look Forward to a Bright Future, 1965, 6 min;
  • The Perfect Human, 1967, 13 min;
  • Near Heaven, Near Earth, 1968, 26 min;
  • Ophelia’s Flowers, 1969, 7 min;
  • Motion Picture, 1970, 24 min;
  • The Search, 1970, 35 min;
  • The Deergarden, the Romantic Forest, 1970, 42 min;
  • Chinese Table-tennis, 1970, 12 min;
  • Life in Denmark, 1971, 37 min;
  • Stars and Watercarriers, 1973, 91 min;
  • Klaus Rifbjerg, 1974, 35 min;
  • Good and Evil, 1974, 81 min;
  • A Sunday in Hell, 1977, 110 min;
  • Peter Martins - A Dancer, 1978, 54 min;
  • Kalule, 1979, 45 min;
  • Dancing Bournonville, 1979, 52 min;
  • 66 Scenes from America, 1981, 42 min;
  • Step on Silence, 1981, 58 min;
  • Pelota, 1983, 47 min;
  • Haiti Express, 1983, 93 min;
  • Moments of Play, 1986, 82 min;
  • Notebook from China, 1986, 79 min;
  • Notes on Love, 1989, 90 min;
  • Danish Literature, 1989, 51 min;
  • Traberg, 1992, 93 min;
  • Michael Laudrup - A Football Player, 1993, 58 min;
  • Haiti, Untitled 1996, 85 min;
  • I'm Alive - Soren Ulrik Thomsen, Poet, 1999, 40 min;
  • Dreamers, 2002, 58 min.
  • New Scenes from America, 2002, 35 min.
  • The Five Obstructions (with Lars von Trier), 2003, 80 min;
  • Aarhus (2005), 35 min.

[edit] Discography

[edit] External links