Lars von Trier

“When I was in film school, it was said that all good films were characterised by some form of humour.”

“I am not very tough with raising my children, but you can argue that to be more tough will help your children.”

“I always do something that I've never done before.”

“I would say that I am a poor Christian; I'm not a believer. It was this idea very early in my life that life on Earth, nature or man could not be a creation of a merciful God.”

“If one devalues rationality, the world tends to fall apart.”

“That's the great thing about entering a convent: There are things that you simply can't do, so you don't have to worry about them.”

“Far be it from me to force anyone into either chess or dressage, but if you choose to do so yourself, in my opinion there is only one way: follow the rules.”

“Political correctness kills discussion.”

“Basically, I'm afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking.”

“I grew up in a culturally radical home, where strong emotions were forbidden.”

“If I made a musical in the beginning of my career, it would have been crane shots and tracking shots and people coming out of cakes and whatever, but these techniques are something that I've left behind me.”

“It's always been a lie that it's difficult to make films.”

“Actors need bricks to play with, and in fact we rejected all the improvised fragments we had made without a plan. Improvisation without a plan is like tennis without tennis balls.”

“I think it's important that we all try to give something to this medium, instead of just thinking about what is the most efficient way of telling a story or making an audience stay in a cinema.”

“You know, I really do have some morals. I do actually care about people. And I do have a political standpoint.”

“I know that I cannot be with a person for three hours without saying at least ten things that would kill me.”

“When I show a film at a festival, I am showing myself. Everything is at stake for me.”

“I'm having a vacation, and it's so beautiful, and maybe I'll never get another film idea in my life.”

“When I was younger, I was fascinated by David Bowie, for example. he had created an entire myth around himself. It was as important as his music.”

“You could say that when you introduce humour to your work, you also step back a little from it. You create a distance.”