Blockbuster Genres in Danish Independent Film

Abstract | Abstract

Throughout the past decade, Danish independent cinema has grown from being amateur home productions to more self-aware production companies. What is fascinating about this development, though, is the fact that many of the indie filmmakers do not react against blockbuster marked dominance, but they respond by delving directly into specific international blockbuster genres and styles in the search for what appears to be missing in Danish cinema. This works for some directors, principally, by directly reacting against the institutional and economic dominance of primarily The Danish Film Institute. Indirectly, the filmmakers seem to react against ‘what is allowed’ in Danish film culture. Thus, they actually define themselves as being non-mainstream by focussing on international mainstream genres. By way of examples from the Danish indie scene and interviews with noteworthy indie filmmakers, this article draws attention to a still fairly anonymous trend in Danish film.