about
from the director
Lene Pels Jorgensen
Creator + co-founder + director
You might ask if there are enough Danish films to create a whole festival around? Well, there are more films made per capita in Denmark than anywhere else in the World! So is that a reason to create a festival? Well, yes and no! My main reason is that Denmark with it’s long tradition of creative expressions is well worth celebrating as film media is one of the most thriving areas of Danish culture.
Our story telling tradition has been celebrated through the fairy tales of H.C. Andersen and many filmmakers owe their storytelling technique to the great Danish director Carl Th. Dreyer and more recently to the Danish Dogme95 Movement.
The vision for the film festival started back in 2000 when preparing a Danish festival of art, photography, crafts, design, architecture, films, dance, music, and culinary arts. It’s a challenge, to say the least, to raise money for these kinds of endeavors in the LA area. There was a lot of interest but not enough money. So, I personally funded the creation a mini version of the vision and created a show called STUDIO DENMARK which toured Southern California for a couple of years.
The main focus since Scandinavian American Art Foundation’s revival in 2004 has been the Danish Film Fest : LA. I started preparing it around the 10-year Anniversary of the Danish Dogme95 Movement in 2004. This became the beginning of a film fest which I’d be pleased to see expand to include the other Scandinavian countries at some point in the future. I would also be pleased if it becomes a traveling festival – I believe other towns in the US would benefit from an injection of Scandinavian culture once in a while. Thus the Danish Film Fest : LA is well into its third year and we are planning to co-present screenings throughout the year.
This year, we are honored to be both a Community and Cultural Supporter, hosting films at the prestigious AFI Fest. Needless to say, we are very excited by this development and hope it will lead to more associations with AFI and other top level film festivals throughout the U.S. We and AFI are thrilled to join forces in getting you, the audience, into the theatres for some exciting new films – some very Danish, some co-productions with other Scandinavian / Nordic countries. For more information on the films, please see PROGRAM>>>
Many people have helped the festival come to life, some of which are still part of our team.
Colleen Keane has spent endless hours and lots of energy helping me with everything from legal matters, to recruiting volunteers from the East- to the West Coast of the US and all the way to Australia, all doing research and helping fundraise. She’s also getting us hooked up with some serious VIP-types, getting volunteers to update websites and Myspace at the blink of an eye – she is truly amazing.
Annika Olsen has spent many hours since 2006 volunteering her help in many areas and her creativeness is most appreciated and so many times has she listened to my eagerness as well as frustrations as I attempt to serve great Danish talent in the utmost way.
Fanny Posselt has been an inspiration and a positive new influence coming on in 2008; energetic and positive, she is a great new force orchestrating a cool seminar this year on sustainability and she brought in the Danish group Kadaver who helps fundraise in Denmark. I am very very happy about our collaboration.
Anne Frederiksen deserves a huge thank-you, for her tremendous help in 2007, her generous spirit and sharing her contacts with SAAF was a great help.
Some have come and gone again, like Christian Bruun who was onboard in 2006 and 07 as co-founder. He was instrumental in creating our first website and he brought in some great Danish volunteers.
Alta Tseng is re-branding the festival with inspiring graphic designs and a great new website. We are happy to have found her up in San Francisco---again one of Ms. Colleen’s contacts.
Finally, I would not be able to put the hours, days, and years into founding and creating this festival without the great support from my family in Denmark, my understanding and creative husband Paul and my super-super cool, creative and funny and inspiring son, Jasper and friends like Delphine, Andy, Beata, George, Claude, Malin, Betina, Jorn…
Thank you, all.
Most of us are working on a volunteer basis, with our main reward and payment being not only a job well-done but our joy in watching as others join us in discovering the amazing world of Danish cinema.
A very special thank you must go to HRH Prince Joachim of Denmark, who, for the third consecutive year, has enthusiastically agreed to act as Patron to the Festival.
Very generous support from FILMKOPI has been highly valued the last 2 years. The Danish Film Institute has been helpful and supported us since the beginning, so has American Cinematheque, Los Angeles Arts Council, The Danish Art Council, and The Danish Embassy in Washington. Others like a number of foundations and sponsors such as Louis Poulsen, Fritz Hansen, Ole Henriksen, Carlsberg, SIKU, dkVogue, CASCH, Mondavi Wine and many more – see sponsor page – have supported us and we are very grateful.
DFF is pleased to have invited the Danish Trade Commission onboard in 2007 and The Department for Post Graduation and Professional Training at The National Film School of Denmark in 2007 and 2008 and have established good relationships
