Lars von Trier is a Danish film director and screenwriter. He is closely associated with the Dogme 95 collective ? an avant-garde filmmaking movement ? although his own films have taken a variety of approaches. Known as a provocateur, his work has frequently divided critical opinion. Nevertheless, von Trier is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential directors in world cinema. Von Trier began making films at age eleven. Von Trier suffers periodically from depression, as well as various fears and phobias, including an intense fear of flying. As he quipped in an interview, "basically, I'm afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking." His first publicly released film was the 1977 experimental short The Orchid Gardener and his first feature came seven years later with The Element of Crime. Among many prizes, awards and nominations, he is the recipient of the Palme d'Or, the Grand Prix, and the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival. 

April 30th, 1956 in Kongens Lyngby (Age 68) as Lars Trier