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Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed contemporary Danish filmmakers. August's 1987 film ''
Pelle the Conqueror ''Pelle the Conqueror'' ( da, Pelle Erobreren, sv, Pelle Erövraren) is a 1987 epic film co-written and directed by Bille August, based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by Danish writer Martin Andersen Nexø. The film tells the story of t ...
'' won the Palme d'Or,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and Golden Globe Award. He is one of only nine 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 Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoundly ...
. His filmography includes ''
The House of the Spirits ''The House of the Spirits'' ( es, La casa de los espíritus, 1982) is the debut novel of Isabel Allende. The novel was rejected by several Spanish-language publishers before being published in Buenos Aires in 1982. It became an instant best-sel ...
'', based on the novel by Isabel Allende; ''
Smilla's Sense of Snow ''Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow'' (published in America as ''Smilla's Sense of Snow'') (Danish: ''Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne'') is a 1992 novel by Danish author Peter Høeg tracing the investigation into the suspicious death of a Green ...
''; ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origina ...
''; '' Night Train to Lisbon'', ''
Silent Heart ''Silent Heart'' ( da, Stille hjerte, Quiet heart) is a 2014 Danish drama film directed by Bille August, and starring Ghita Nørby, Morten Grunwald, Paprika Steen, and Jens Albinus. The film was nominated for the 2015 Nordic Council Film Prize ...
'', ''
The Chinese Widow ''The Chinese Widow'' (), also known as ''In Harm's Way'' and ''The Hidden Soldier'', is a 2017 Chinese war drama film directed by Danish director Bille August, starring Liu Yifei and Emile Hirsch. The film premiered at the 2017 Shanghai Interna ...
'' and ''
A Fortunate Man ''A Fortunate Man'' ( da, Lykke-Per) is a 2018 Danish drama film directed by Bille August. In August 2018, it was one of three films shortlisted to be the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards. The film's t ...
''. He has received five
Robert Awards The Robert Award ( da, Robert prisen) is a Danish film prize awarded each year by the Danish Film Academy. It is the Danish equivalent of the American Oscars, British BAFTAs for films and Australian AACTA Awards. The award—voted only by aca ...
(including
Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BAF ...
) and three
Bodil Awards The Bodil Awards are the major Danish film awards given by the Danish Film Critics Association. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony in Copenhagen. Established in 1948, it is one of the oldest film awards in Europe. The awards are giv ...
for Best Danish Film. He is also a
Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known a ...
.


Life and career

August was born on 9 November 1948, in Brede, Denmark. After attending local schools, he graduated from the Foto- og Dokumentarskolan in
Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropolita ...
, and later from the
National Film School of Denmark The National Film School of Denmark ( da, Den Danske Filmskole) is an independent institution under the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was established in 1966 and is based on Holmen in the harbour of Copenhagen. History The National ...
. 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 The Bodil Award for Best Danish Film ( da, Bodilprisen for bedste danske film) is one of the categories for the Bodil Awards presented annually by the Danish Film Critics Association. It was created in 1948 and is one of the oldest film prizes in E ...
. He collaborated twice with then wife
Pernilla August Pernilla August (; born Mia Pernilla Hertzman-Ericson; 13 February 1958) is a Swedish actress, director and screenwriter. Being one of Sweden's leading actresses and a longtime collaborator with director Ingmar Bergman, she won the Best Actress ...
under George Lucas on
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, North ...
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. His film '' Night Train to Lisbon'' (2013) premiered out of competition at the
63rd Berlin International Film Festival The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the President of the Jury and his film '' The Grandmaster'' was the opening film ...
. He had planned to direct a '' Gianni Versace''
biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docu ...
with
Antonio Banderas José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received various accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival ...
as Versace, but this project was cancelled. 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 SF Studios is a Swedish film and television production and distribution company (both Swedish and international) with headquarters in Stockholm and local offices in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki and London. The studio is owned by Nordic media ...
.


Personal life

August has been married four times, and had four children by two of his wives. He was first married to Annie Munksgård Lauritzen. His second wife was Masja Dessau. Together they had two children, Anders Frithiof August (born 15 June 1978) and Adam August (born in 1983). They have both become screenwriters. His third marriage to Swedish actress Pernilla August was from 1991 to 1997. Together they had daughters Asta Kamma August (born 5 November 1991) and Alba Adèle August (born 6 June 1993); he also became the stepfather of her daughter Agnes from her first marriage to Swedish novelist and screenwriter
Klas Östergren Klas Östergren (born 20 February 1955) is a Swedish novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and translator. Östergren had a breakthrough with his fourth novel ''Gentlemen'' in 1980. He has been awarded numerous Swedish literary prizes, su ...
. In 2012, he married his fourth and current wife, Sara-Marie Maltha. In addition, August fathered four other children by two women outside marriage.


Filmography


Film


As cinematographer


Television


References


External links


1997 interview with Bille August
about Smilla's Sense of Snow * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:August, Bille 1948 births Living people People from Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality Danish film directors Danish male screenwriters Danish cinematographers Directors of Palme d'Or winners Directors of Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award winners Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog