Netflix joins the Dogma 25 movement for the Nordic region as the first film starts shooting

Zentropa and Netflix have entered into a licensing agreement for the first five films from the Dogma 25 directors. Consequently, all titles will be available on Netflix across the Nordic region following their theatrical run.

The first Dogma 25 feature, currently in production, is Isabella Eklöf’s MR. NAWASHI, starring Tanya Holm Andersen and Esben Smed in the lead roles.

Zentropa’s five upcoming Dogma 25 films will premiere in theatres before arriving on Netflix in the Nordics. Subsequently, they will be broadcast on DR, who has been a partner on the Dogma movement since its initial announcement in Cannes last year.

Netflix is delighted with the partnership. Jenny Stjernströmer Björk, Vice President of Nordic Content at Netflix, says:

"We are thrilled about our first collaboration with Zentropa, a company that for decades has helped define what Nordic films can be: bold, artistically ambitious and uncompromising. The filmmakers behind Dogme 25 are an exceptionally talented group of directors who constantly challenge the format and push audience expectations. We've already had the pleasure of working with some of them, and now we look forward to collaborating with all of them and giving their films a life on Netflix after their theatrical run"

The enthusiasm is shared by Zentropa, where Producer Louise Vesth adds:

“The DOGMA 25 movement is a major tribute to the art of cinema and the drive to create original, powerful, and distinctive films by directors who have the courage and ability to deliver world-class films. That Netflix in the Nordics has chosen to partner with us, DR, and Nordisk Film Distribution on the core financing of these projects is a major step for Dogma 25, for the films, and for the art of filmmaking.”

The first Dogma film is on its way!
Exactly one year after the Dogma 25 movement was unveiled to great fanfare at the Cannes Film Festival, production is now in full swing on the first feature: the deeply personal romantic drama MR. NAWASHI, written and directed by Isabella Eklöf. Today, Zentropa, the production company behind Dogma 25, can reveal the film’s leading cast: Tanya Holm Andersen and Esben Smed."

A Love Story
MR. NAWASHI is a love story that follows Katarina, an ambitious and talented singer with a zest for life but a lack of self-discipline. When she connects with the mysterious Mr. Nawashi online, she discovers a new world: a BDSM relationship where absolute submission and devotion are met with attention, care, rigorous coaching, and the provocative play of physical pain. Stimulated both physically and mentally, Katarina flourishes. However, what begins as a flirtation and a mutual attraction quickly spirals into obsession and dependency.

A Seasoned Star and a Fresh Face in the Leading Roles
Isabella Eklöf has secured Esben Smed in the title role of Mr. Nawashi. Esben Smed, who was recently announced as the lead in Niels Arden Oplev’s upcoming feature Shadow and Light, is well-known for his standout performances in Bille August’s A Fortunate Man and Oplev’s Held for Ransom. His extensive television credits include Thomas Vinterberg’s Families Like Ours, as well as Agent and Follow the Money.

Opposite Smed is a rising star and feature film debutant: Tanya Holm Andersen as Katarina. Tanya Holm graduated from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Odense in 2014 and has previously earned acclaim for her performances at several of Denmark's most prestigious venues, including the Royal Danish Theatre, Folketeatret, Odense Theatre, and Teater Momentum.

The Creative Team
MR. NAWASHI is written and directed by Isabella Eklöf. Her previous directorial work includes the award-winning features Holiday (2018) and Kalak (2023), eight episodes of the HBO series Industry, all six episodes of The Death of Bunny Munro, and two episodes of Servant. In addition, she co-wrote Ali Abbasi’s internationally acclaimed and award-winning film Border (2018).

DOGMA 25 was initiated by May el-Toukhy alongside Milad Alami, Annika Berg, Isabella Eklöf, and Jesper Just. The projects are produced through a partnership between Zentropa, DR, and Nordisk Film Distribution, and now also with Netflix in the nordics. Together they secure the core financing necessary to realize the films under the conditions set up by Dogma 25.

In addition, Isabella Eklöf’s MR. NAWASHI is co-financed by the Danish Film Institute and the Swedish Film Institute.

The Dogma 25 films are distributed in the Nordics by Nordisk Film Distribution. Following their theatrical run, they will be available on Netflix in the Nordics and on DR.

TrustNordisk handles international sales.

MR. NAWASHI is expected to be released theatrically in 2027.

Kind regards,
Zentropa

Contact:
Emilie Selin, emilie@have.dk, Mobil: +45 26114104
Michael Feder, michael@have.dk, Mobil: +45 22 43 49 42

Regarding Dogma 25:

About DOGMA 25
In May of last year – exactly 30 years after DOGMA 95 – five prominent filmmakers initiated the DOGMA 25 movement. In addition to Isabella Eklöf, the collective consists of directors May el-Toukhy, Milad Alami, Annika Berg, and Jesper Just. These five creators have united around a shared manifesto and a new 'Vow of Chastity' consisting of ten new rules. These dogmas are designed to defend the artistic integrity of the feature film and carve out a space for uncompromising cinematic storytelling in a new era.

Drawing on their respective artistic practices, the five directors have established a framework for bold and uncompromising narratives. These stories insist on presence, necessity, and integrity – functioning both as a collective movement and an individual challenge

The projects are financed in a collaboration between Zentropa, DR, and Nordisk Film Distribution who are now joined by Netflix in the Nordics to secure the core financing necessary to realize all five projects.

Additionally, Isabella Eklöf’s MR. NAWASHI is co-financed by the Danish Film Institute and the Swedish Film Institute.

The Dogma 25 films are distributed by Nordisk Film Distribution and subsequently on Netflix in the Nordics and DR. TrustNordisk handles international sales.

MR. NAWASHI is expected to have its theatrical release in 2027.

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 risk-taking, 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.

The five directors behind DOGMA 25:

May el-Toukhy (b. 1977)
Director and screenwriter. Graduate of the National Film School of Denmark (2009). Debuted with the feature film Long Story Short (2015) and had her breakthrough with the award-winning film Queen of Hearts (2019), which world premiered at Sundance International Film Festival and received numerous awards at festivals all over the world, e.g. the Audience Award at Sundance, the Nordic Council Film Prize as well as 3 awards at Gothenburg International Film Festival. May el-Toukhy has moreover directed multiple episodes of the award-winning Netflix hit series The Crown.

Milad Alami (b. 1982)
Director and screenwriter. Graduate of the National Film School of Denmark (2011). Made his debut with the critically acclaimed feature film The Charmer (2017), which had its international premiere at San Sebastian International Film Festival, while his second feature Opponent (2023) world premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival, and became the Swedish contender for the Academy Award, and was nominated for The Nordic Council Film Prize. Besides his work on feature films, he co-created and directed the TV series Bullshit which won several Robert Awards and was praised for its nerve and ambition.

Annika Berg (b. 1987)
Filmmaker and visual artist. Graduate of the National Film School of Denmark (2015). Won a Robert Award for her graduation film SIA. Debuted with Team Hurricane (2017) which won one of the four main awards, Verona Film Club Award, at the world premiere of the Venice International Film Critics' Week, a parallel section of the Venice International Film Festival.

Isabella Eklöf (b. 1978)
Screenwriter and director. Had her directorial debut with the feature film Holiday (2018) which had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival and has since, among other projects, directed the feature film Kalak (2023) based on Kim Leine’s acclaimed novel, which was selected for and received the Special Prize of the Jury at San Sebastian Film Festival in 2023. As a screenwriter Eklöf has also and co-written the feature film Border (2018) with Ali Abbasi.

Jesper Just (b. 1974)
Video artist and filmmaker. Graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts(2003). 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, Tate Modern and many others. Combines film and installation in artworks that explore gender, space, and perception.

About Zentropa:
Zentropa was founded by Peter Aalbæk Jensen and Lars von Trier in 1992 and has since evolved into one of Europe’s leading production companies known for its high international quality and innovative approach to filmmaking. In 1995, Zentropa initiated the DOGMA 95 movement and has since received countless awards and nominations, including two Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film as well as six Academy Award nominations, one Golden Globe statuette and five nominations, the Palme d’Or, and other awards at the Cannes Film Festival, one BAFTA Award, and 22 European Film Awards.