Lars von Trier has been admitted to a care centre where he will receive treatment for Parkinson’s disease.
The Danish filmmaker, 68, is known for his dark and provocative films including Dancer in the Dark, Nymphomaniac and Melancholia.
In 2022, he went public with his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
In a new statement posted on the Instagram account of von Trier’s production company Zentropa, producer Louise Vesth said in Danish: “Lars is currently in a care centre that can provide him with the treatment and care his condition requires.
“It’s a complement to his own private accommodation. Lars is doing well under the circumstances.”
She went on to ask that his privacy be respected.
The auteur has frequently courted controversy throughout his career. In 2023, he came under fire from the Ukrainian government after saying that “Russian lives matter also” on social media.
That August, von Trier had shared a post about Russia’s ongoing invasion in Ukraine, saying: “By the way: To Mr Zelenskyy and Mr Putin and, last but not least, Ms Frederiksen [Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen] (who yesterday posed, beaming, inside of one of today’s most horrifying killing machines, as if she was head over heels in love).
“Russian lives matter also! Best regards, Lars.”
In 2011, he was banned from the Cannes Film Festival for telling the world's media he was "a Nazi" and could "understand Hitler". He later apologized for the comments and returned to the festival with his 2018 serial killer thriller The House That Jack Built.
He also denied sexual harassment allegations made against him by his Dancer in the Dark star Björk.
In a 2018 interview with AlloCiné, von Trier said: “You know, 90% of the journalists I spoke to believe that I harassed Björk, but that’s ridiculous because I denied it, but no one wrote it.
“Because a good story is to write that I harassed her. And this is not the case. I touched her, it’s true. I did it with all my actresses. Because she was doing a really intense job: screaming, being sick…so obviously I hugged her. But if she thinks a hug is harassment, then I think I will not be able to succeed without touching my actors."
He added: “I did not touch her in the wrong places, I think.”
In a four-star review of The House That Jack Built,The Independent’s Kaleem Aftab wrote than von Trier was “back to doing what he does best, making psychological dramas that essay toxic masculinity.”
