Christian Slater Joins the Dogma25 Film ‘Incidents of Intimacy’

Christian Slater, Trine Dyrholm and Dree Hemingway have joined Incidents of Intimacy, a new Danish drama from visual artist and first-time feature director Jesper Just. The project is the second movie planned under Zentropa’s Dogma25 banner, which revives the rule-driven spirit of Denmark’s influential Dogme 95 movement for a new generation of filmmakers.

Dyrholm will play Linda, an intimacy coordinator who struggles to form emotional connections. Instead, she takes objects from other people and stores them in a private archive, using those possessions to experience feelings at a distance. The story shifts toward psychological horror when a triangular relationship disrupts that carefully controlled system.

A cast with ties to Danish cinema

Slater’s casting brings him back to Danish filmmaking after his supporting role in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. Dyrholm has an even deeper connection to the movement’s history: she appeared in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Celebration, the first film released under the original Dogme 95 manifesto. Hemingway, known for Starlet and While We’re Young, rounds out the central trio.

Johannes Lilleøre, Julie Agnete Vang, Laura Drasbæk and Michael Moritzen are also set to appear. Just co-wrote the screenplay with Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen. Although he is new to feature directing, his visual art has been exhibited internationally, including at major museums and the Venice Biennale.

Dogma25 puts firm limits on production

The new manifesto imposes unusually strict conditions. Each film must use an original handwritten script, keep at least half of its running time dialogue-free and employ no more than 10 people behind the camera. Internet research is prohibited during the creative process, while locations must match the story and production items must be rented, borrowed, found or previously used.

The budget ceiling is 10 million Danish kroner, or roughly $1.5 million. Zentropa, Danish broadcaster DR and Nordisk Film Distribution provide core financing, with Netflix holding Nordic streaming rights after the films’ theatrical and broadcast windows. TrustNordisk is handling international sales. No release date has been announced.