Lars Von Trier may soon be directing the dark due to his bizarre anti-Semitic comments.
Despite issuing an apology, the award-winning Danish director has been declared "persona non grata" at theCannes Film Festival.
"The festival's board of directors, which held an extraordinary meeting, 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," Cannes organizers said in astatement.
The trouble began at a press conference for his latest film "Melancholia."
"For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew," he told reporters. "But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. And that also gave me some pleasure."
"I think he did some wrong things," he continued. "He's not what you'd call a good guy but I understand much about it and I sympathize with him a little bit."
"I'm not for the second World War and I'm not against Jews," he continued. "I'm very much for Jews. Well, not for all Jews because Israel is a pain in the ass."
He smiled and appeared to be joking as he concluded his ramblings by saying, "Okay, I am a Nazi. As for the art, I'm for Speer. Albert Speer I liked. He was also one of God's best children."
The actress Kirsten Dunst, who sat next to him at the dais, looked extremely uncomfortable while actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is Jewish, also sat by and listened intently to the director's ramblings.
His apology came the next day.
"I'm really sincere when I say I don't really know what hit me. I can understand if you take things out of context. This was very sarcastic and very rude, but that's very Danish," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "I'm very sorry that it's being taken the wrong way. I must say that I believe strongly that the Holocaust is the worst crime against humanity ever, and I do not sympathize with Hitler one second."
The fallout has only just started. His Argentine distributor has decided not to distribute his film on the basis of his comments, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"We clearly condemn Mr. Lars Von Trier's statements and will not support or release his film in the country," the company heads said in a statement.
Von Trier has made a name for himself for his dark and realistic style of filmmaking. His films, including the Academy Award-nominated "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark" are often wrenching in their themes of impossible decisions and abject misery.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone at all," he said in his apology. "Sometimes I hurt people on purpose, when there's provocation that I want to get through that has a meaning. This doesn't have a meaning. "I've studied how bad the Jews have been treated in [places such as] Poland and France. This is something that matters very much to me. And this was an idiotic way to behave."
This is also not the first time he has declared himself a Nazi.
In a 2005 interview, he revealed that his mother had lied to him about his biological father being Jewish. He confirmed that his real father was a Danish composer and that his mother had chosen him for his "creative, genetic makeup."
"She said my foster father had had no goals and no strength. But he was a loving man. And I was very sad about this revelation," he revealed. "If I'd known that my mother had this plan, I would have become something else. I would have shown her. The slut!"
Von Trier's film, which has been receiving positive reviews, has a chance of winning the festival's highest prize – the Palme d'Or.
However, he will not be allowed on site to collect the prize if he wins.
But Von Trier said that due his comments, he shouldn't be allowed to receive the award anyway.
"I don't deserve to win a [Palme d'Or]."
Despite issuing an apology, the award-winning Danish director has been declared "persona non grata" at theCannes Film Festival.
"The festival's board of directors, which held an extraordinary meeting, 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," Cannes organizers said in astatement.
The trouble began at a press conference for his latest film "Melancholia."
"For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew," he told reporters. "But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. And that also gave me some pleasure."
"I think he did some wrong things," he continued. "He's not what you'd call a good guy but I understand much about it and I sympathize with him a little bit."
"I'm not for the second World War and I'm not against Jews," he continued. "I'm very much for Jews. Well, not for all Jews because Israel is a pain in the ass."
He smiled and appeared to be joking as he concluded his ramblings by saying, "Okay, I am a Nazi. As for the art, I'm for Speer. Albert Speer I liked. He was also one of God's best children."
The actress Kirsten Dunst, who sat next to him at the dais, looked extremely uncomfortable while actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is Jewish, also sat by and listened intently to the director's ramblings.
His apology came the next day.
"I'm really sincere when I say I don't really know what hit me. I can understand if you take things out of context. This was very sarcastic and very rude, but that's very Danish," he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "I'm very sorry that it's being taken the wrong way. I must say that I believe strongly that the Holocaust is the worst crime against humanity ever, and I do not sympathize with Hitler one second."
"We clearly condemn Mr. Lars Von Trier's statements and will not support or release his film in the country," the company heads said in a statement.
Von Trier has made a name for himself for his dark and realistic style of filmmaking. His films, including the Academy Award-nominated "Breaking the Waves" and "Dancer in the Dark" are often wrenching in their themes of impossible decisions and abject misery.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone at all," he said in his apology. "Sometimes I hurt people on purpose, when there's provocation that I want to get through that has a meaning. This doesn't have a meaning. "I've studied how bad the Jews have been treated in [places such as] Poland and France. This is something that matters very much to me. And this was an idiotic way to behave."
This is also not the first time he has declared himself a Nazi.
In a 2005 interview, he revealed that his mother had lied to him about his biological father being Jewish. He confirmed that his real father was a Danish composer and that his mother had chosen him for his "creative, genetic makeup."
"She said my foster father had had no goals and no strength. But he was a loving man. And I was very sad about this revelation," he revealed. "If I'd known that my mother had this plan, I would have become something else. I would have shown her. The slut!"
Von Trier's film, which has been receiving positive reviews, has a chance of winning the festival's highest prize – the Palme d'Or.
However, he will not be allowed on site to collect the prize if he wins.
But Von Trier said that due his comments, he shouldn't be allowed to receive the award anyway.
"I don't deserve to win a [Palme d'Or]."
