Dogma isn’t dead!
In a packed presser this afternoon at the Zentropa villa in Cannes, filmmakers May el-Toukhy, Milad Alami, Annika Berg, Isabella Eklöf and Jesper Just announced that they are launching a rebranded Dogma manifesto, styled as Dogma 25, to “protect the artistic integrity of feature film and create space for uncompromising cinematic storytelling.”
The manifesto contains 10 new dogmas, and the filmmakers said they have taken a “new vow of chastity” to uphold the rules, which they explained are influenced by three central themes: a return to the physical reality, aesthetic restrain and economic and geographic accountability. You can read the full list of dogmas below.
No. 1 on the list compels each director to only work on screenplays that are original and handwritten by the director. The list demands that the internet is off limits in all creative processes, and the filmmakers must only accept funding with no content-altering conditions attached.
Dogma 25 arrives 30 years after the original Dogma 95, which included Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Kristian Levring. Films produced under the previous manifesto include such seminal European features as Festen (1998) and The Idiots (1998).
In their new manifesto, the Dogma 25 group said they “celebrate Dogma 95, the filmmakers who came before us, and those who will come after.”
“We stand together to defend artistic freedom as a shield against pointlessness and powerlessness. Dogma 25 is a rescue mission and a cultural uprising,” they wrote.
The manifesto’s preamble continues: “In a world where formulaic films based on algorithms and artificial visual expression are gaining traction, it is our mission to stand up for the flawed, distinct, and human imprint. We champion the uncompromising and unpredictable, and we fight against the forces working to reduce cinematic art to an ultra-processed consumer product.”
In response, Vinterberg and von Trier added in a statement: “In ’95, we made films in the certainty of peace. And created a revolt against conformity. In ’25, new dogmas are created, now in a world of war and uncertainty. We wish you the best of luck on your march toward reconquering Danish film.”
El-Toukhy is a director and screenwriter best known for her 2019 feature Queen of Hearts, which debuted at Sundance. Alami is behind the 2023 feature Opponent, which debuted at Berlin and was submitted as Sweden’s entry for the International Oscar. Berg is a filmmaker and visual artist. Her feature Team Hurricane (2017) won the Verona Film Club Award at Venice.
Eklöf made her directorial debut with the Sundance title film Holiday (2018). She also directed Kalak (2023), which won the Special Prize of the Jury at San Sebastian. She is also the co-writer of Ali Abbasi’s Border. Just is a video artist and filmmaker. He represented Denmark at the 55th Venice Biennale and has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Guggenheim (NYC), and Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam). His work is included in several permanent public collections such as MoMA, The Met, and Tate Modern.
Manifesto:
DOGMA 25 is a collective of filmmakers founded in Copenhagen in the spring of 2025. Our stated purpose is to preserve the originality of cinema and the opportunity to create film on its own terms.
The role of the director has increasingly been reduced to that of project manager, the film to a commodity, and the audience to consumers. Experimental practice is stifled by fear of risktaking, which suffocates artistic exploration and silences unique voices. When films are merely executed and not allowed to evolve organically, it puts the art form in danger of becoming functional, obedient and thereby irrelevant.
In a world where formulaic films based on algorithms and artificial visual expression are gaining traction, it’s our mission to stand up for the flawed, distinct, and human imprint. We champion the uncompromising and unpredictable and we fight the forces working to reduce cinematic art to an ultra-processed consumer good.
By scaling down production, we ensure that everyone on the team has an intimate relationship with the film and its message. This will enhance mutual trust and a sense of collective responsibility for the film and for each other. It also allows us to safeguard the flexibility that is vital in making a creative process dynamic and intuitive, rather than purely executive.
We celebrate DOGMA 95, all the filmmakers who came before us, and those who will come after. We stand together to defend artistic freedom as a shield against pointlessness and powerlessness. DOGMA 25 is a rescue mission and a cultural uprising.
To protect and preserve what we hold dear, we hereby submit to the unflinching and unbreakable set of rules called: THE VOW OF CHASTITY.
THE VOW OF CHASTITY: I vow to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by DOGMA 25:
1. The script must be original and handwritten by the director. We compel ourselves to write the script by hand in order to nurture the kind of intuition that flows most freely from the dream, channelled through the hand onto the paper.
2. At least half the film must be without dialogue. We insist on a cinematic approach to filmmaking, because we believe in visual storytelling and have faith in the audience.
3. The internet is off limits in all creative processes. We commit to produce the films relying on real people within our physical reality – rather than in a digital one infused with algorithms.
4. We’ll only accept funding with no content altering conditions attached. We assume responsibility for keeping budgets down so the team retains final say in all artistic decisions.
5. No more than 10 people behind the camera. We commit to working in close collaborations to build trust and strengthen our shared vision.
6. The film must be shot where the narrative takes place. Film as an art form becomes artificial and generic when we portray a location in a false light.
7. We’re not allowed to use make-up or manipulate faces and bodies unless it’s part of the narrative. Just as we strive to maintain the authenticity of the location, we also want to portray the human body without a filter. We celebrate it – warts and all.
8. Everything relating to the film’s production must be rented, borrowed, found, or used. We commit to making films using objects that already exist and renounce the ahistorical and self-destructive culture of consumerism.
9. The film must be made in no more than one year. We abstain from any lengthy processes that stand in the way of creative flow.
10. Create the film as if it were your last.
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