The Celebration (1998)

Festen ([fɛsd̥ɛ̝n]) is a 1998 Danish film, produced by Nimbus Film and directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It was released under the title The Celebration in the United States.

The film tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their father's 60th birthday. At the dinner, the eldest son publicly accuses his father of sexually abusing both him and his twin sister (who had recently committed suicide). Vinterberg was inspired to write it with Mogens Rukov, based on a hoax broadcast by a Danish radio station.

It was the first film created under Dogme 95 rules, a movement of young Danish film makers who preferred simple production values and naturalistic performances.

Synopsis

Respected family patriarch and businessman Helge (Henning Moritzen) is celebrating his 60th birthday at the family-run hotel. Gathered together amongst many family and friends are his wife Else (Birthe Neumann), Christian (Ulrich Thomsen), his sullen eldest son, his well-traveled daughter Helene (Paprika Steen), and Michael (Thomas Bo Larsen), his boorish younger son. Christian's twin sister, Linda, recently committed suicide at the hotel.

Actors