The very first film made according to the Dogma 95 rules, hit like a bomb at its premiere. With his raw style and flawless tension arc, Thomas Vinterberg not only put a new film manifesto on the map, but also a story that grabs you by the throat and does not let go.

Two Danish films in the main programme at Cannes, that was an outright sensation in 1998. The film industry in this country, with which the Dutch film industry often compares itself, had produced the talent Lars von Trier in recent years, and it was also logical that his The Idiots competed for the Golden Palm. But what did unknown director Thomas Vinterberg have to add to that? After the screening of Festen, it was no longer a question: the overwhelmed director received a minute-long ovation. 

During a seemingly festive family dinner celebrating the patriarch's 60th birthday, son Christian uncovers a shocking secret. What follows is an explosive confrontation in which the china is not the only thing that breaks.

Festen is an uncompromising dissection of family ties, loyalty and denial. Filmed with handheld camera, without artificial lighting or embellishments, the film mercilessly penetrates the living room - and under the viewer's skin.

A modern classic that has not lost its urgency. Intense, raw and disconcertingly honest.