On the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival, with DOGMA 25 Germany introduces a new cinematic movement that deliberately places itself within the tradition of Danish Dogma 95 cinema – whilst at the same time seeking to formulate a response to the current state of the digital, highly industrialised film industry.
The project has been initiated by five leading figures in contemporary German-language cinema: Tom Tykwer, Helene Hegemann, İlker Çatak, Nora Fingscheidt and Kurdwin Ayub. As part of the project, each of them is developing their own feature film.
Cinema as a counter-model to the logic of production
DOGMA 25 Germany sees itself as a deliberate alternative to current production conditions: rising budgets, fragmented funding models and an increasing focus on marketable formats. The initiative aims to break with this logic and re-envision cinema as an experimental, risky and collective process.
The movement explicitly builds on DOGMA 95 which was shaped in the 1990s by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg and had a lasting influence on European auteur cinema through its radical rules.
Ten rules for radical reduction
At the heart of the project is a manifesto comprising ten binding rules, referred to as a „vow of chastity“. These are intended to deliberately restrict creative processes in order to expand artistic freedom.
The key requirements include, amongst others:
- handwritten screenplays
- at least 50 per cent of the film without dialogue
- Avoiding the use of the internet in all creative processes
- a maximum of ten people behind the camera
- Filmed on location at real, original sites
- no make-up or digital/aesthetic body manipulation
- props that are exclusively borrowed, found or reused
- Completion within twelve months
- a significantly reduced budget with no specific requirements regarding the content of the funding
The set of guidelines concludes with a deliberately open-ended maxim: the film should be made „as if it were the last“.
Production structure and funding
In organisational terms, DOGMA 25 Germany is supported by several established European production companies, including X Films Creative Pool, Zentropa Germany and if... Productions.
For hire, X Hire intended, whilst TrustNordisk will be responsible for international distribution. The first funding organisation to do so is the MOIN Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein involved.
A response to an industry in flux
The project’s initiators also cite structural changes in the film industry as a reason for launching the project. They argue that cinema is increasingly shaped by algorithms, standardised production methods and economic considerations of security. DOGMA 25 aims to counter this with a deliberately minimalist, craft-oriented model.
In this context, the production process itself becomes an artistic statement: small teams, limited resources and working in a shared physical space are intended to bring spontaneous decisions and unpredictability back to the forefront.
A deliberate experiment
DOGMA 25 Germany does not see itself as a style, but as a working method. The restrictions are not viewed as a loss, but as a productive condition – as an attempt to free cinema from its current logic of production.
Whether this will actually give rise to a new movement remains to be seen. One thing is certain, however: with the involvement of established filmmakers and strong European production partners, DOGMA 25 is already sending a clear signal to the industry.