Bille August RD (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television.
Bille August | |
|---|---|
 August in 2008 | |
| Born | 9 November 1948 Brede, Denmark |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouses | Annie Munksgaard Lauritzen
(m. 1970; div. 1978)Masja Dessau
(m. 1978; div. 1990)Sara-Marie Maltha (m. 2012) |
| Children | 8, including Anders and Alba |
August's 1987 film Pelle the Conqueror won the Palme d'Or, Academy Award and Golden Globe Award. He is one of only ten directors to win the Palme d'Or twice, winning the award again in 1992 for The Best Intentions, based on the autobiographical script by Ingmar Bergman.
His filmography includes The House of the Spirits, based on the novel by Isabel Allende; Smilla's Sense of Snow; Les Misérables; Night Train to Lisbon, Silent Heart, The Chinese Widow and A Fortunate Man. He has received five Robert Awards (including Best Film and Best Director) and three Bodil Awards for Best Danish Film. He is also a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog.
Life and career
editAugust was born on 9 November 1948, in Brede, Denmark.[1] After attending local schools, he graduated from the Foto- och Dokumentärskolan in Stockholm, Sweden, and later from the National Film School of Denmark. He began his career as a cinematographer. He made his feature directorial debut in 1978 with In My Life, which won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film.
He collaborated twice with then wife Pernilla August under George Lucas on The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones in The Perils of Cupid and Tales of Innocence. Pernilla would later star in the first two films of the Star Wars prequel trilogy and appeared in an episode of The Clone Wars television series to reprise her role from the films.
After decades of writing, directing and producing notable films in Denmark, on 23 September 2011, Bille August announced that he had opened a studio in Hangzhou, China and taken a position as Tianpeng Media's Art Director, in order to produce Chinese films for Tianpeng Media over the next few years. Tianpeng Media is a new media company established in 2010. The company produced two films, The Women Knight of Mirror (竞雄女侠秋瑾) and The Years of Qi Xiao Fu (七小福之燃情岁月), to be released later in 2011. He is the first foreign director to be hired by the Chinese film company. In 2011, August also accepted the invitation from the Hangzhou government to serve as a "culture consultant" for the city.[2]
His film Night Train to Lisbon (2013) premiered out of competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.[3] He had planned to direct a Gianni Versace biopic with Antonio Banderas as Versace, but this project was cancelled.[4][5] In August 2021, it was announced that August would direct a feature film adaptation of Karen Blixen's novel Ehrengard, which is being produced by Netflix and SF Studios.[6]
Personal life
editAugust has been married four times and has a total of eight children with five different women.
He was first married to Annie Munksgård Lauritzen; they had a son Anders Frithiof August. His second wife was Masja Dessau with whom he had a son; both sons have become screenwriters. His third marriage to Swedish actress Pernilla August was from 1991 to 1997. Together they had two daughters, including Alba Adèle August; he also became the stepfather of her daughter from her first marriage to Swedish novelist and screenwriter Klas Östergren. In 2012, he married his fourth wife, actress Sara-Marie Maltha after 10 years together; they have three children.
He has a daughter from a previous relationship.[7]
Filmography
editFilm
editDirector
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | In My Life | Yes | Yes | |
| 1983 | Zappa | Yes | Yes | |
| 1984 | Busters verden | Yes | No | |
| Twist and Shout | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1987 | Pelle the Conqueror | Yes | Yes | |
| 1992 | The Best Intentions | Yes | No | |
| 1993 | The House of the Spirits | Yes | Yes | |
| 1996 | Jerusalem | Yes | Yes | |
| 1997 | Smilla's Sense of Snow | Yes | No | |
| 1998 | Les Misérables | Yes | No | |
| 2001 | A Song for Martin | Yes | Yes | Also producer |
| 2004 | Return to Sender | Yes | No | |
| 2007 | Goodbye Bafana | Yes | Yes | |
| To Each His Own Cinema | Yes | No | Segment "The Last Dating Show" | |
| 2012 | The Passion of Marie | Yes | No | |
| 2013 | Night Train to Lisbon | Yes | No | |
| 2014 | Silent Heart | Yes | No | |
| 2017 | The Chinese Widow | Yes | No | |
| 55 Steps | Yes | No | ||
| 2018 | A Fortunate Man | Yes | Yes | |
| 2021 | The Pact | Yes | No | |
| 2022 | The Kiss | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction | Yes | No | IMDb |
Director of photography
| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Christiania | Flemming Colstrup Ove Nyholm |
Documentary film |
| Hemåt i natten | Jon Lindström | ||
| 1978 | Men Can't Be Raped | Jörn Donner | |
| 1980 | Love | Theodor Kallifatides | |
| Mördare! Mördare! | Jon Lindström | ||
| Tomas: A Child You Cannot Reach | Lone Hertz | Documentary film | |
| 1981 | Killing Heat | Michael Raeburn | |
| 1982 | Sova räv | Gun Jönsson |
Television
editMiniseries
- Et par dage med Magnus (1978)
- The Count of Monte Cristo (2024)
TV movies
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Verden er så stor, så stor | Yes | Yes |
| 1982 | Maj | Yes | No |
| 2003 | Detaljer | Yes | Yes |
TV series
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles | 2 episodes |
Awards and nominations
editReferences
edit- ^ Schneider, Steven Jay, ed. (2007). 501 Movie Directors. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 519. ISBN 9781844035731. OCLC 1347156402.
- ^ "Academy Award-winning director Bille August opens his studio in Hangzhou". Asia Pacific arts. 10 April 2011. Archived from the original on 26 August 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ "Berlinale 2013: Competition Now Complete". berlinale. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ "Antonio Banderas Cancels 'Versace' Project". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Bille August Set to Direct Versace Biopic With Antonio Banderas". Variety. Retrieved 10 December 2016.
- ^ Grater, Tom (31 August 2021). "Bille August To Direct Karen Blixen's Ehrengard For Netflix & SF Studios". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ source [1]
- ^ Busters Verden Awards, IMDb, retrieved 24 July 2020
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Pelle the Conqueror". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
- ^ "Pelle Erobreren (1987)". Swedish Film Institute. 15 March 2014.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Best Intentions". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1997 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
- ^ Uhr, 13 Februar 2007 14:05. "Starrummel bei Berlinale: Richard Gere spielte am Piano auf". Mittelbayerische Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 23 July 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
External links
edit- 1997 interview with Bille August about Smilla's Sense of Snow
- Bille August at IMDb
- Bille August at the Swedish Film Database
- Bille August in the Danish Film Database