The early 1990’s were an invigorating time. All of the traditional values of the film industry were being challenged. My upstairs neighbour in our original office in Berwick Street London was Thomas Vinterberg, one of the co-founders of Dogme 95. His film Festen, now retitled as The Celebration played Raindance in 1999, the year after it took Cannes by storm.
Let’s rewind to 1995. Thomas Vinterberg and Lars von Trier launched Dogma 95. They created a collective of like-minded filmmakers and wrote a daring manifesto for a new generation of filmmakers designed to strip filmmaking down to its most raw form.
From Wikipedia:
The goal of the Dogme collective is to “purify” filmmaking. They rejected expensive and spectacular special effects. The post-production process had to be simple and straight forward.. The goal was to concentrate on the story and the actors’ performances. They claim this approach may better engage the audience, as they are not “alienated or distracted by overproduction”. To this end, von Trier and Vinterberg produced ten rules to which any Dogme film must conform. These rules, referred to as the “Vow of Chastity”, are as follows:
- Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
- The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)
- The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted.
- The film must be in colour.
- Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.)
- Optical work and filters are forbidden.
- The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
- Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
- Genre movies are not acceptable.
- The film format must be Academy 35 mm
- The director must not be credited.
We are now in 2025 – and thirty years later the Dogme 95 looks like it could certainly use a revamp. A lot has changed in those years. The so-called digital revolution, the streming giants, and of course, AI.
We need a Dogma for the modern age. Like the Dogme of old we need to understand accept the chjallenges and opportunities available to filmmakers today.
Here are my idea of what Dogme 2025 could look like:
1. No use of artificial intelligence in writing, directing, or editing. Every aspect of the film should be created by humans. No AI generated scripts, editing tools, or visual effects. Art in each of its forms comes from human expression, and imperfections should be appreciated and not cooked out by the latest software, or by AI.
2. All footage must be captured on a smartphone or equally priced camera.
We take inspiration from Martin Scorcese’s famous quote:
“The Image on an iPhone Is the New Cinema Vérité”
Everyone from multiple 2025 Oscar winner, Sen Baker to Danny Boyle have shot on a iPhone.
3. Use of minimal lighting and rigging.
Embrace the natural light in the environments they have access to using available light.
4. Real locations
As with Dogme 95 avoid the excessive sue of art direction and studio builds. Let the locations you have access to dictate the story.
5. No CGI, green screen, or heavy effects in post-production
Focus on in-camera solutions to enhance your story instead of relying on digital enhancements in post-production.
6. Capture high-quality sound.
Sound (and music) make the movie. Consider shooting silent and then adding in traditional ADR, Foley and music.
7. Storytelling and performance.
The gola of a filmmaker is to tell a story that elicits emotion. Take the time you need to find a story truly worth telling
Fade Out
The original Dogme 95 placed storytelling ahead of technical expertise. It was also their attempt to democratise filmmaking and make the act of movie making within everyone’s reach. And of course, with the advances of technical filmmaking equipment since the mid 90’s, it is within everyone’s reach to get he equipment you need to make a film.
The core of filmmaking is the ability to tell compelling stories that hook audiences. Find a story that is truly worth telling, don’t just contribute to the constant stream of mediocre content that we are bombarded with on a daily basis.
Dig into something raw, real, and important. Let your acting performances shine through. Strip away distractions and return to what is the most important thing: characters, story, and authenticity.
Let’s stop making excuses for not creating our films. Let’s embrace the new technologies. Why can’t we explore a community-driven approach to independent filmmaking. By that I meqn – can’t and shoiuldn’t we be helping each other?
Are you just going to click off onto the next page? Why not sound off – and enter your comments below.
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Photo Credit: Bertie Watson
I founded Raindance Film Festival in 1993 because the British film industry was closed, polite, and congratulating itself while shutting new filmmakers out.
I co-founded the British Independent Film Awards in 1998 because British indie film deserved more than a shrug, a pat on the head, and a Tuesday night screening.
Raindance didn’t start as a brand. It started as a rebellion: film training without gatekeepers, a festival without permission, and a community built by filmmakers who weren’t waiting to be invited in.
Later, we took it global: Toronto, Vancouver, New York, LA, Berlin, and Brussels, because independent film doesn’t belong to one city, one class, or one accent.
I’ve produced 700+ short films and seven features, including Deadly Virtues (2014) and ALICE, which won the SXSW Grand Jury Prize (2019) not because someone “discovered” us, but because the work earned its place.
I’ve written three books used by filmmakers worldwide because too many courses taught compliance instead of survival.
In 2009, I was awarded a PhD for services to film education, ironic, given that most of my career has been about tearing down the rules that education insisted you follow.
I don’t believe in waiting for permission.I believe in making work, building systems, and forcing the industry to catch up.
Specialties: Independent Film (the real kind) · Producing · Writing · Film Education · Festivals · Breaking Broken Systems
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