The patriarchal shine of a 60th birthday darkens into a battlefield of the soul: In Festen (The Celebration), Thomas Vinterberg’s searing debut and the first Dogma 95 film, the ritual of family gathering becomes a crucible in which repressed truths rise and decorum collapses. Set in the genteel countryside of Denmark, the bourgeois family assembles to toast the father – but when son Christian delivers a stunning speech, the festivities unravel into something far more primal. Shot with handheld camera, natural light, and stripped of music, Festen feels raw, immediate – almost like a confession. The absence of artifice becomes its own form of force: authenticity as moral provocation. Awarded the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1998, Festen remains a landmark of European cinema – a film that transforms a banquet table into a courtroom of memory. A toast to the truth: bitter, necessary, and liberating.

Loan of the film print with kind support of HfG Karlsruhe.

Christmas in 2008: At the cult exhibition “Oh Tannenbaum,” there were Christmas trees galore, but no curatorial committee: Whatever was delivered was exhibited, as long as it was a Christmas tree. Oh, how joyful. The cult Christmas exhibition has been around since 2004. Originally started as an internal joke, the student project developed over the years into a national art sensation. For one week (the week before Christmas), anyone could exhibit, whether professor, student, or staff member. In 2013, it was over for the Christmas tree. We think it's a pretty cool thing, and it might be worth thinking about again.

Loan of the film print with kind support of HfG Karlsruhe.