Nils Malmros

Nils Malmros (born 1944), a Danish film director and screenwriter, is considered a leading auteur of realism in Danish cinema. Malmros is noted for his detailed focus on the common growing pains of adolescence and the loss of innocence, which he draws from his childhood experiences growing up in Århus, Denmark. His most notable films form a trilogy about schoolchildren in 1950s Århus: Lars-Ole 5c, Boys and Tree of Knowledge. The latter film, 1981's Tree of Knowledge (Kundskabens træ), is one of ten films listed in Denmark's cultural canon by the Danish Ministry of Culture.

Malmros, self-educated as a filmmaker, is formally trained as a surgeon. In his film Facing the Truth (At kende sandheden), he performed all of the film's brain surgery sequences himself. Malmros is a 4-time recipient of the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film and a 3-time recipient of the Robert Award for Danish Film of the Year.

Early life and medical training Nils Sigurd Malmros was born on 5 October 1944 in Århus, Denmark the son of , professor of neurosurgery at University of Aarhus, and Eli Cold. As a young man, Malmros wanted to be a furniture designer and applied for admission to architecture school in Copenhagen, but was not accepted. Instead, Malmros followed in the path of his father and, in 1965, began studying medicine. However, after viewing François Truffaut's Jules and Jim and reading a film analysis by Klaus Rifbjerg, Malmros became inspired to pursue film making. Malmros was hurt, but pushed forward with his next movie project: Lars-Ole, 5c.

In 1969, Malmros sought financial support from the Danish Film Fund, first for script development of Lars-Ole, 5c, and again later for production. Both times he was turned down—the Film Fund would not support what they considered a children's movie. Malmros again self-funded his project. The movie revolved around the social life and development of a fifth-grade schoolboy. Malmros filmed on location at the Finsensgades Skole in Århus where he once attended, and he reduced costs by using children from the school as actors and extras." Malmros originally wanted to film over a four-year period but ran into financial difficulties with the film's funding from the Det Danske Filminstitut. The film received critical acclaim but garnered only two awards: a Bodil Award for Jan Weincke's cinematography and an audience prize at the Lübeck Nordic Film Days. However, Tree of Knowledge is one of the top 100 Danish films listed by the Danish Film Institute and is one of ten films listed in the cultural canon of Denmark by the Danish Ministry of Culture. He followed this with his 1989 film Århus by Night. The film was inspired by Malmros' experiences during the filming of Boys and many of the characters were obvious portraits of those involved from the earlier film. During filming Malmros came under criticism from the Actor's union for employing amateur actors. Malmros held a preview of the movie and was criticized for the surrealistic Freudian ending by reviewers, for example critic Klaus Rifberg.

In 2013, Malmros wrote and directed Sorrow and Joy about the tragic events in which his wife killed their 9-month-old daughter.

Personal life Malmros married school teacher Marianne Tromholt on 5 June 1982. Tromholt has bipolar disorder. In 1984, while on a home visit from Risskov Psychiatric Hospital and off her medication, Tromholt killed the couple's 9-month-old daughter with a kitchen knife. Tromholt returned to teaching at the request of her students' parents.

Filmography

YearTitleOriginal titleCreditsNotes 1968A Strange Romance DirectorwriterCinematographerproducereditor 1973 DirectorwriterActor ... Music Teacherproducereditor Bodil Award for Best Danish Film 1977 Boys Drenge DirectorwriterSoundeditor Bodil Award for Best Danish Film 1978 Kammesjukjul Kammesjukjul Directorwriter Television 1981 Tree of Knowledge Kundskabens træ Directorwriter Listed in Denmark's Cultural Canon 1983 Beauty and the BeastSkønheden og udyret Directorwriter Bodil Award for Best Danish FilmRobert Award for Danish Film of the YearEntered into the 34th Berlin International Film Festival. 1989 Directorwriter 1992 Pain of Love Kærlighedens smerte Directorwriter Bodil Award for Best Danish FilmRobert Award for Danish Film of the YearEntered into the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. 1997 Barbara Barbara Directorwriter Entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. 2002 Facing the Truth At kende sandheden Directorwriter 2009 Aching Hearts Kærestesorger Directorwriter 2013 Sorrow and Joy Sorg og glæde Director

Awards Danish Film Critics Bodil Award for Best Danish Film, for Lars-Ole 5c, 1974 Krebs' School Award, 1975 Danish Film Critics Bodil Award for Best Danish Film, for Boys, 1977 Preben Franks Memorial Award, 1982 Gjest Baardsen Award, Oslo, 1982 Audience Prize of the "Lübecker Nachrichten", Lübeck Nordic Film Days, for Tree of Knowledge, 1982 Niels Matthiasen's Memorial Award, 1983 Albertslunds Cultural Fond's Honorary Award, 1983 Danish Film Academy Robert Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay for Beauty and the Beast, 1984 Danish Film Critics Bodil Award for Best Danish Film, for Beauty and the Beast, 1984 Otto Rungs Authors Award, 1990 Danish Playwrights Guild (Danske Dramatikere) Honors Award, 1993 Danish Film Critics Bodil Award for Best Film for Pain of Love, 1993 Danish Film Academy Robert Award for Best Film, for Pain of Love, 1993 National Art Council's Lifetime Award, 1995 Danish Film Academy Robert Award for Best Film, and Rouen Nordic Film Festival Audience Award, for Barbara, 1998 Hartmann Award, 1998