Jørgen Leth

Peter Martins, en danser

Jørgen Leth

A late 1970s look at Danish ballet star Peter Martins's art and an assessment of what makes him unique and highly lauded on the international stage of ballet.

A Sunday in Hell: Paris-Roubaix 1976

Jørgen Leth

Roger De Vlaeminck, Marc Demeyer

A chronology of the 1976 Paris-Roubaix bicycle race from the perspective of participants, organizers and spectators.

Laamb

Peter Alsted, Kristoffer Hegnsvad

Ndoff, Jørgen Leth

The rules are simple in Senegalese wrestling: First man down, loses. The sport derives from ritual manhood trials and has developed into a national sport with packed stadiums and huge prizes. Today, the fight is supplemented with bare knuckle boxing but without any protection. The 22­-year-­old cattle herder Ndoff has been chosen to compete in an annual talent event in Dakar, and faces a possible breakthrough as a pro wrestler. LAAMB is the story of a sport filled with myths and extreme voodoo rituals, and a modern tale about fighting one’s way out of poverty.

Stjernerne og Vandbærerne

Jørgen Leth

Eddy Merckx

The images from the Tour de France in the television production Eddy Merckx in the Vincinity of a Cup of Coffee may be seen as a small sketch for the fully unfurled epic cycling drama Stars and Watercarriers. The film follows the 1973 Giro d'Italia and in his commentary Leth explains the fascination exerted by the great cycle races: "The most beautiful, most pathetic images cycling can give us involve extreme performances in classic terrain."

Nye scener fra Amerika

Jørgen Leth

Henree Alyse, John Ashbery

A look at post-9/11 America by the Danish documentarian.

The Five Obstructions

Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier

Claus Nissen, Lars von Trier

Lars von Trier challenges his mentor, filmmaker Jørgen Leth, to remake Leth’s 1967 short film The Perfect Human five times, each with a different set of bizarre and challenging rules.

Pelota II

Olatz González Abrisketa, Jørgen Leth

Kalule

Jørgen Leth

Portraying Ayub Kalule, the boxer from Uganda who was "the most famous immigrant in Denmark" in the late 1970s.

Drømmere

Jørgen Leth

During a period of 20 years Jørgen Leth portrays Haitian painters and their wonderful native artform. They are dreamers, mystics, fantasts and storytellers. Haiti is a country in which a strong sense of historical destiny confronts the human condition, and where spiritual forces play an active part in everyday life.

Haiti. Uden titel

Jørgen Leth

Haiti. Uden title is a kaleidoscopic, dramatic documentary from this chaotic Caribbean country and comprises a mixture of material on video, 16 mm and 35 mm, dating in some scenes right back shooting on Leth's Udenrigskorrespondent (1982).

Pelota

Ole John, Jørgen Leth

Jean-Pierre Laruche, Joseph Laduce

A documentary view of the Basque ball-game in which a small hard leather ball is hit against a wall. The film gives an impression of the game itself and of those who play it, not only the star performers (and the myths that surround them), but also those who just play in the streets and alleyways. The film sees the game it its cultural context and conveys the emotions and stories that are peculiar to the Basque country.

Notater fra Kina

Jørgen Leth

In 1984 Jørgen Leth, cinematographer Dan Holmberg and sound recordist Niels Torp travelled some 6,000 kilometres by train through China. The result is a very calm, beautifully perceived travelogue borne by unprejudiced curiosity and observational ability.

Det perfekte menneske

Jørgen Leth

Claus Nissen, Majken Algren Nielsen

An elegant and humorous film—in the guise of a serious anthropological treatise—spotlights "The Perfect Human," a model of the modern Dane created by our wishful thinking.

Klovn - the movie

Mikkel Nørgaard

Michael Carøe, Ida Lee

Frank is left with the responsibility for his nephew Bo on an already planned canoe trip. Frank's mate Casper is also coming along. Weighed down a with their obligation, Frank and Casper nevertheless look forward to ending the trip at Skanderborg Festival where there's plenty there for the guys, a spree of drinking and women. Not the best example to set for young Bo. And how do their partners see it all?

66 scener fra Amerika

Jørgen Leth

Kim Larsen, Andy Warhol

As a visual narrative it is reminiscent of a pile of postcards from a journey, which indeed is what the film is. It consists of a series of lengthy shots of a tableau nature, each appearing to be a more or less random cross section of American reality, but which in total invoke a highly emblematic picture of the USA.

Den umulige time

Jørgen Leth

Ole Ritter

The Impossible Hour is a concentrated study of Ole Ritter's attempt in Mexico City in 1974 to set a new record for the hour - described in the film as "the noblest, most difficult record that can be set on a bicycle". A brief retrospective in black and white sets the historical framework, with shots of Ritter and Eddy Merckx' successful record attempts in 1968 and 1972 respectively, and a few words about former record holders such as Fausto Coppi.The film follows Ritter's three record attempts chronologically, which, accompanied by a Mexican marching band on the bandstand, all fail.