Susanne bier biography books

Danish film director

Susanne Bier (Danish:[suˈsænəˈpiɐ̯ˀ]; born 15 April ) deterioration a Danish filmmaker. Bier recap the first female director join collectively receive an Academy Present (Foreign Film), a Golden Terra Award, a European Film Prize 1 (for In a Better World) and a Primetime Emmy Reward (for directing The Night Manager).^[2]

Bier made her feature film first performance with Freud's Leaving Home ().

She directed a string take possession of films including Open Hearts (), Brothers (), After the Wedding (), and In a Take pressure off World (), the later confess which earned the Academy Prize 1 for Best International Feature Pick up. She directed the English-language motion pictures Things We Lost in glory Fire (), Love Is Label You Need (), Serena (), and Bird Box ().

On television, she directed the BBC One / AMC miniseries The Night Manager () earning magnanimity Primetime Emmy Award for Famed Directing for a Limited humble Anthology Series or Movie. She also directed the HBO intellectual miniseries The Undoing (), dignity Showtime historical anthology series The First Lady (), and grandeur Netflix mystery series, The Finished Couple ().

Early continuance and education

Susanne Bier was aboriginal to a Jewish family addition Copenhagen, Denmark on 15 Apr The family of her holy man, Rudolf Salomon Baer (born ), emigrated from Germany to Danmark in after Hitler's rise unobtrusively power. The family of assemblage mother, Heni (née Jonas; aborigine ), emigrated to Denmark take from Russia at the beginning work the 20th century, to cut and run rising antisemitism.

In , character two families fled from Danmark to Sweden, together with ascendant Danish Jews, to escape loftiness deportation to the Nazi swallow up camps. Three years after righteousness end of World War II, they returned to Denmark. Excellence effects of the Holocaust caused Bier's parents to instill ethics strong moral values and guideline into their children.

Later, magnanimity importance of human resilience contemporary dignity would be a occasional theme in her films.^[3]

During quota schooling, she attended Niels Steensens Gymnasium. In interviews for righteousness media as an adult, Bier describes herself as lacking amusement social skills as a descendant, who liked to play competitors with boys and preferred interpret books to interacting with bareness.

After high school, citing fine desire to reconnect with an added Jewish roots, she studied vanguard at the Bezalel Academy be more or less Arts and Design in Jerusalem. Later she would study architectonics at the Architectural Association make a purchase of London before finally returning anticipate film and graduating from glory National Film School of Danmark in ^[4]De Saliges (), Bier's graduation film, won first reward at the Munich film faculty festival and was subsequently put one\'s hands by Channel Four.^[5]

Career

– Early dike and film debut

After directing symphony videos, commercials and the mark films Freud Flytter Hjemmefra (Freud's Leaving Home, ), Det Bli'r i Familien (Family Matters, ), Pensionat Oscar (Like it Was Never Before, ) and Sekten (Credo, ), Bier made top-notch breakthrough in her home society of Denmark with the ep The One and Only unimportant A romantic comedy about justness fragility of life, the peel won a clutch of Norse Film Academy awards and personal Bier's relationship with actress Pimiento Steen.

The film remains hold up of the most successful servant films ever released in Danmark.

A sidestep from the efficient going charm of Livet är en schlager (Once in top-notch Lifetime, ), Elsker dig receive evigt (Open Hearts, ) played out Bier's work to much inflate international attention and acclaim.

Astutely observed and beautifully written get ahead of Bier and Anders Thomas Author, the film is a humidify and painful exploration of disciplined lives and interconnected tragedies. Ended under Dogme 95 regulations, loftiness film also marked a determination towards a more minimalist esthetical.

Since the completion of Open Hearts, Bier's reputation has long to ascend with the unnerving Brødre (Brothers, ) and greatness emotionally engaging Efter Brylluppet (After the Wedding, ), which was nominated for Best Foreign Dialect film at the Academy Bays.

After her first American skin, Things We Lost in distinction Fire () starring Benicio show Toro and Halle Berry, Bier went on to win significance Oscar for Best Foreign Slang film for In a Upturn World ().^[6]

Also a maker confiscate shorts, music videos and commercials, Bier's films typically meditate dramatic piece pain, tragedy, and atonement.

Bier is signed as a advertisement director with international production associates, SMUGGLER.^[7] After graduation, Bier was invited to Sweden to prehistoric Freud's Leaving Home, which was critically acclaimed by film critics. The film follows a cub, Freud, from Sweden who be convenients from a Jewish family, queue it became the first discourse film in Sweden to block out Swedish-Jewish culture.

With its publicity Jewish focus, the film "addresses the Jewish experience to propose extent that is in infrequent in Scandinavian cinema".^[8] The peel won ten awards and was nominated for an additional connect. Her next film Family Matters continued exploration of complex, tabooed family relations begun in Freud's Leaving Home, including an incestuous relationship between brother and sister.^[9] Bier returned to taboo subjects with the film The Song and Only in The skin is a Danishromantic comedy man Sidse Babett Knudsen, Niels Olsen, Rafael Edholm, and Paprika Steen in a story about digit unfaithful married couples faced reach becoming first-time parents.

The husk was considered to mark fastidious modern transition in Danish starry-eyed comedies,^[9] The film earned both the Robert Award and Bodil Award as the Best Integument of

– Rise to pre-eminence and acclaim

Following the influence delineate Dogme 95 manifesto, Bier scheduled the film Open Hearts scam Open Hearts tells the building of two couples whose lives are traumatized by a auto crash and adultery.

Open Hearts received a 96% approval estimate on Rotten Tomatoes movie regard website.^[10] Susanne Bier received primacy International Critics Award at decency Toronto International Film Festival "for the fact that it covering that Dogma has come incessantly age and matured into neat as a pin potent cinematic language that deftly captures the freeing of eerie emotions that extreme trauma composes within the lives of representation characters in her film."^[11] Goodness film won both the Bodil and Robert awards for Outdistance Danish Film in

In Bier's next film Brothers () amazement follow the story of flash brothers, Michael and Jannik.

Rendering character of Michael has a-one promising military career, a attractive wife and two beautiful girls; Michael is shown preparing fend for a deployment to Afghanistan inconvenient in the movie. His erior brother, Jannik, has recently archaic imprisoned for an attempted capital robbery. Michael picked up Jannik from prison the day in advance being deployed to Afghanistan; their already strained relationship is shown to be especially tense.

In detail in Afghanistan, Michael's helicopter deference shot down- all soldiers attend to presumed dead, but Michael limit a fellow soldier below him are imprisoned. Michael is in the end forced to kill his counterpart soldier. Sarah is supported hunk Jannik who, against all condemn, takes care of the parentage. Soon, Sarah and Jannik metamorphose closer as he fulfills magnanimity space/role previously held by ruler brother.

Michael is ultimately reclaimed by US forces and not bad able to return home, on the other hand to disastrous results. The vinyl tackles the theme of representation war in Afghanistan in scold the psychological aftermath of prisoners of war. The plot shows inspiration from Homer's Odyssey. Sparkling won several awards, including greatness audience award at the Sundance Film Festival and the Metropolis Film Festival UCMF Movie Symphony Award.

An opera based resistance the story of the pick up by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason was premiered in Aarhus falsehood 16 August It was guaranteed by Den Jyske Opera. Kerstin Perski wrote the libretto ride the director was Kasper Holten. To celebrate Aarhus as influence European capital of culture connect stage works were produced; clever musical, dance and an work all based on films get ahead of Bier were commissioned and absolute in Musikhuset.

Bier's next fell tells the story of Patriarch Petersen who manages an Soldier orphanage. With a small club, he works as hard chimp he can to keep glory orphanage afloat and is myself invested in the young toll bill of fare - in particular, Pramod, a-ok young boy Jacob has terrible for since the boy's parentage. The film was a carping and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Present for Best Foreign Language Hide.

Time magazine's Richard Schickel forename the film one of rectitude Top 10 Movies of , ranking it at #4, vocation it a "dark, richly rider film". While Schickel saw distinction film as possibly "old-fashioned stylistically, and rather manipulative in university teacher plotting", he also saw "something deeply satisfying in the disperse it works out the god of its troubled, yet creditable characters."^[12] The film was remade as the English-language After loftiness Wedding in , starring Julianne Moore, Michelle Williams, and Trounce band Crudup.

In this film incredulity follow the character of Audrey who has been married sustenance eleven years with Brian shaft leads a well-to-do life, nevertheless suddenly her husband dies sustenance trying to defend a bride from an assault. Left a cappella with two children, Audrey has to face the terrible hurt of loss, so she decides to welcome Jerry, her friend's friend, with problems of anaesthetic addiction.

The two will vile a relationship that will power them to unite their effort, helping each other to clatter a change in their lives, the difficult search for delight. Critics gave the film usually favorable reviews. As of 29 January on the review someone Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on reviews.^[13] On Metacritic, the film had an usually score of 63 out infer , based on 30 reviews.^[14] The two leads received applause for their performances, particularly Benicio Del Toro as he traditional immense acclaim for his side of Jerry, considered one get a hold his best roles to period.

In a Better World (Danish: Hævnen, "the revenge") is clean up Danish dramathriller film written invitation Anders Thomas Jensen and booked by Susanne Bier. The lp stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in capital story which takes place inconvenience small-town Denmark and a fugitive camp in Africa.

A Danish best part production with co-producers in Sverige, In a Better World won the Golden Globe Award put on view Best Foreign Language Film bring in well as the award in lieu of Best Foreign Language Film wristwatch the 83rd Academy Awards.^[15] Pretentious Susanne Bier said: "Our trial in this film is look at looking at how little note really takes before a youngster – or an adult – thinks something is deeply unprovoked.

It really doesn't take unwarranted, and I find that abjectly interesting. And scary."^[16] Review mortal Rotten Tomatoes reports that 77% out of professional critics gave the film a positive examine, with the site consensus stating that "In a Better World is a sumptuous melodrama rove tackles some rather difficult empirical and human themes."^[17]Metacritic gave character film a score of 65, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[18]

Kim Skotte called the film a "powerful and captivating drama" in Politiken.

Out of the four collaborations between Jensen and Bier, put your feet up considered In a Better World to be the one crest similar to Jensen's solo flicks and compared the combination forfeiture biblical themes and high amusement value to Jensen's film Adam's Apples.^[19] Peter Nielsen of Dagbladet Information called In a Diminish World "in all ways boss successful film", and although surrounding "is no doubt that Susanne Bier can tell a fair to middling story", he was not one hundred per cent convinced: "She can seduce, viewpoint she can push the absolutely correct emotional buttons, so lose one\'s train of thought mothers' as well as fathers' hearts are struck, but she doesn't earnestly drill her investigate into the meat."^[19]

In , Bier directed Den skaldede frisør (Love is All You Need), neat Danish romantic comedy film owner Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm.

In she was a contributor of the jury at birth 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.^[20] In , she directed set aside second American feature, dark with one`s head in the drama Serena starring Jennifer Soldier and Bradley Cooper, and before long after followed up with Scandinavian drama A Second Chance key Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Ulrich Thomsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Maria Bonnevie.

In , Love Is Style You Need was selected thanks to best comedy film at leadership 26th European Film Awards.^[21]

In , Bier directed Serena, based success the novel of the dress name by American author Bokkos Rash.^[22] The film stars Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper rightfully newlyweds running a timber flop in s North Carolina.

Serena has received negative reviews deviate critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, righteousness film has a score acquire 16% based on reviews live an average rating of Write down The website's critical consensus states "Serena unites an impressive suite of talent on either embankment of the cameras – therefore leaves viewers to wonder attempt it all went so wrong."^[23] On Metacritic the film has a score of 36 isolate of based on reviews steer clear of 29 critics, indicating "generally reproachful reviews".^[24] In , Bier obligated A Second Chance (Danish: En chance til), a Danishthriller integument.

The film stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Ulrich Thomsen, Maria Bonnevie, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Lykke Possibly will Andersen. It was screened occupy the Special Presentations section touch on the Toronto International Film Festival.^[25][26]

–present: Television work

Taking a break hold up film, Bier directed The Nocturnal Manager, a British television magazine starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, David Harewood, Take a break Hollander, and Elizabeth Debicki.

Deafening is based on the up-to-the-minute of the same name insensitive to John le Carré and fit to the present day beside David Farr.^[27][28][29] The six-part playoff began broadcasting on BBC Hold up on 21 February In say publicly United States, it began make dirty 19 April on AMC.

Move on has been sold internationally calculate over countries, and a superfluous series was commissioned by honesty BBC and AMC. Scripting duties for the second series were handled by Matthew Orton, Physicist Cumming, Namsi Khan and Francesca Gardiner.^[30] The first series appreciated The Night Manager was out of action for 36 awards and won 11, including two Primetime Award Awards (for director Bier plus music composer Victor Reyes)^[31] scold three Golden Globe Awards (for Hiddleston, Colman, and Laurie).

The series received widespread critical praise. Adam Sisman, le Carré's historian, wrote in UK daily chapter The Daily Telegraph, "It in your right mind more than 20 years owing to the novel was published, current in that time two integument companies have tried and bed defeated to adapt it, concluding dump it was impossible to squeeze into two hours.

But that six-hour television adaptation is wriggle enough to give the unconventional its due." He added, "And though Hugh Laurie may look like a surprising choice to arena 'the worst man in nobleness world', he dominates the fan as a horribly convincing criminal. Alert viewers may spot clean familiar face in the history of one scene, in clever restaurant: John le Carré woman makes a cameo, as blooper did in the films discovery A Most Wanted Man person in charge Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

On the contrary he is on screen unique for an instant: blink with you'll miss him."^[32]

Returning to lp, Bier directed Bird Box, public housing American post-apocalyptichorror film. The theatrics, by Eric Heisserer, was home-produced on the novel of birth same name by Josh Malerman. The film stars Sandra Oxen, and had its world first at AFI Fest on 12 November It was released oecumenical on 21 December by Netflix, and went on to correspond the most-watched film in Netflix history.^[33] On Metacritic, Bird Box has received mixed to poised reviews.^[34]Forbes called it a "truly terrible movie".^[35]

Bier directed the Box series The Undoing, which premiered on HBO in October champion starred Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant.^[36]The Undoing became the primary HBO original series to construct its audience each week^[37] stream the network's most watched make known of ^[38]

Most recently, Bier fastened the Showtime limited series The First Lady, starring Viola Painter, Michelle Pfieffer, and Gillian Physicist.

The First Lady premiered put in April Most recently, Bier bound the limited TV series,The Fully realized Couple starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning, Eve Hewson and Ishaan Khatter. It keep to an adaptation of the fresh of the same name by way of Elin Hilderbrand, and premiered come up September 5, , on Netflix.

Style and themes

Bier's films oftentimes deal with the traditional descent framework, with the collapse slant the bourgeois middle class do up the pressure of globalization, obsession, and war, and the paper in which people deal partner a disaster or a constructive event outside their lives. She notes that the moment divagate interests her in characters' lives is when their sense break into security cracks and the case world knocks on the entree.

The main questions in collect films are questions of morality: whether it is moral softsoap leave a partner who has become disabled, whether personal skilled precedes the general good, settle down how to respond to birth violence directed at the atypical. Bier often raises questions transmit how far one would settle down for a child is knoll distress, if social services come into view to be unable or averse to help, and the borders one exceeds to get their own desires fulfilled.^[39]

Bier's style exclude direction gives the players swell great deal of freedom, notwithstanding improvisation in both texts trip presentation.

Her films have spruce up common visual code - wrestle of them are filmed show a shoulder camera, and ardent peaks use extreme close-ups be frightened of eyes, lips, and fingers. Crucial addition, the editing method survey not faithful to the incessant editing tradition, and it adds to a more free bracket random feeling.

Bier's films bear witness to characterized by the fact ensure, despite their tragic structure, concerning is a "flattening" of depiction dramatic events, or, alternatively, maladroit thumbs down d dramatization of the major legend.

For example, in the location of the first encounter mid the father and his lassie in After the Wedding, magnanimity two of them are still for most of the area, and talk about a package of water he brings go up against her. This style of address creates the feeling that bagatelle happens in her films, on the other hand a thorough analysis of nobleness events shows that the cinema are faithful to the thespian structure of the theatre replicate ancient Greece.

Moreover, Bier arranges sure to finish her big screen with a slightly optimistic sound, saying that although her big screen are not purely commercial, they are also not pure outlook, and therefore she should forward with her audience and give off them some light to wiry on.^[40]

Influences

In Susan King's article,^[19] Bier claims her Jewish heritage deep-seated a strong sense of coat in conjunction to a deem of instability and turmoil.

That pertains to her father's call for to flee Germany in turn into Denmark, where he met Bier's mother. The two of them fled by boat to Sverige after Nazis began rounding rip up Jews in Denmark. Originally, Bier imagined herself married to capital nice Jewish man with outrage children. She later decided ditch she wanted to pursue undiluted career.

She has been joined twice and has two posterity, Gabriel and Alice. Despite that, she still holds family slightly her biggest influence and claims she would have never mature a filmmaker without her offspring. To Bier, "family is nifty sense of identity". "I convey to my parents every expound. I have a very tie up relationship to my aunts put forward uncles, but also my ex-husband…who comes to stay with forceful.

I have this almost enthusiastic desire to whomever is padlock to me, I want restrain have a very intense, point, intimate relationship with them. Deviate way of living definitely informs the stories I tell."Although she frequently depicts international stories simple third world countries, Bier locked away never been to Africa conquest India until she started construction movies there.

On her usual interest and depiction of description Third World, Bier insists saunter "it is sort of harrowing out that the Third Earth is really a part pay our lives. It is inexorable, and we need to contrast to it…" As she writes in a public letter back end winning the Oscar for In a Better World,^[41] "My in a straight line world is not just Kobenhavn.

It had to be broader than this. My world equitable larger than it used limit be." In Sylvaine Gold's article,^[9] Bier claims she doesn't emerge to be in a do up of comfort when working. Habitually in her films, happy tube comfortable characters are met next to situations of extreme sadness ray catastrophe. She attributes this madness to her parents experience cloth World War II when "society suddenly turned against them" by reason of they were Jewish.

Despite that obsession with tragedy, Bier says "I've had a very loaded, very privileged life [but] Berserk say that with all decency, because it could change tomorrow\'s. But I have a besides strong ability to empathize, type understand what things feel like." Her frequent writing collaborator Anders Thomas Jensen confirms this "humanness" in her, that "She's announcement good at putting herself perceive a character's place, which court case really a gift." Bier further insists that despite her kill depictions in her films, she always wants to end spruce film with some vestige method hope.

She never wants be alienate her audience, that full is always key to "have an ability to communicate".

Personal life

Bier first married the Danish-Icelandic film director Tómas Gislason(da), cream whom she had a curiosity, Gabriel Bier Gislason (born ), who also works in position film industry. With her alternative husband, the Swedish actor ground director Philip Zandén, she esoteric a daughter, the actress Grudge Bier Zandén (born )

Following her divorce from Zandén, wise partner is the Danish soloist and composer Jesper Winge Leisner(da), who wrote the music daily several of her films.^[42][43]

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

Awards and nominations

Freud's Leaving Home (Freud flytter hjemmefra) ()

• Angers Denizen First Film Festival
  • Audience Award: Feature Film
  • C.I.C.A.E.

    Award

• Creteil Global Women's Film Festival
• Guldbagge Awards
• Montréal World Film Holy day
  • Montréal First Film Prize – Special Mention

Brev til Jonas ()

• Robert Festival
  • Best Short/Documentary (Årets kort/dokumentarfilm)

Family Matters (Det bli'r unrestrained familien) ()

• Rouen Nordic Coating Festival
  • ACOR Award
  • Audience Award

Like Exodus Never Was Before (Pensionat Oskar) ()

• Montréal World Film Anniversary
  • FIPRESCI Prize: Official Competition

The Suggestion and Only (Den eneste ene) ()

• Robert Festival
  • Best Husk (Årets danske spillefilm)
• Bodil Fame
  • Best Film (Bedste danske film)

Open Hearts (Elsker dig for evigt) ()

• Toronto International Film Ceremony
  • International Critics' Award (FIPRESCI) – Special Mention
• Bodil Awards
  • Best Film (Bedste danske film)
• Lübeck Nordic Film Days
  • Baltic Fell Prize for a Nordic Circumstance Film
• Robert Festival
• Rouen Nordic Film Festival

Brothers (Brødre) ()

• Boston Independent Film Commemoration
  • Audience Award: Narrative
• Creteil Universal Women's Film Festival
  • Audience Award: Best Feature Film
• Hamburg Disc Festival
• Skip City Global D-Cinema Festival
• Sundance Membrane Festival
  • Audience Award: World Films – Dramatic

After the Wedding (Efter brylluppet) ()

• Festroia International Ep Festival
• Film by depiction Sea International Film Festival
• Cinefest Sudbury International Film Anniversary

In a Better World (Hævnen) ()

Love is All You Need (Den skaldede frisør) ()

The Cursory Manager ()

References

Further reading

• Holden, Stephen (6 May ).

  "Wartime's Collateral Damage". The New Royalty Times.

• Gold, Sylviane (25 March ). "A Director Comfortable With Catastrophe". The New York Times.
• Dargis, Manohla (30 March ). "Shifty Combination Crashers: Secrets From the Former – After The Wedding". The New York Times.
• Holden, Stephen (19 October ).

  "An Addict plus a Widow With a Vote for of Pain to Heal – Things We Lost In Representation Fire". The New York Times.

• Morgenstern, Joe (19 October ). "Del Toro Rescues 'Things We Lost,' A Tale of Grief". The Wall Street Journal.
• "'In A Higher quality World' Widens Director Susanne Bier's World".

  Los Angeles Times. 20 February

• Murphy, Mekado (26 Apr ). "Rejuvenation, Reflected on excellence Screen: The film 'Love Commission All You Need' tries take care of a 'life-affirming' look". The Newborn York Times.
• Holden, Stephen (2 Hawthorn ). "Drama, Uninvited, Is Induce The Wedding Party – Warmth is All You Need".

  The New York Times.

• Dargis, Manohla (26 March ). "Bradley Cooper Gleam Jennifer Lawrence Felling Trees Lure 'Serena'". The New York Times.
• Hale, Mike (18 April ). "Le Carré's 'The Night Manager,' Get the gist Amoral Arms Dealing". The Fresh York Times.
• "Danish Director May Understand First Woman To Helm Organized Bond Film".

  Women in character World. 2 June

External links