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Clinical depression is a topic Lars von Trier understands only too well, having been a sufferer for many years.
His films Antichrist (2009), Melancholia (2011) and Nymphomaniac (2013) together form the so-called ‘Depression Trilogy’, driven by complex female characters battling profound grief, despair, and loneliness. Von Trier relies on the creative process to work through his debilitating mental health issues, famously saying, “I’m afraid of everything in life, except filmmaking.”
In this intensive day-course, we will psychoanalytically interpret Lars von Trier’s Depression Trilogy, with a special focus on the 1917 essay Mourning and Melancholia, in which Sigmund Freud distinguishes between healthy and pathological responses to loss. We will engage with interdisciplinary concepts to explore von Trier’s dark and compelling emotional landscapes, where courageous performers represent the internal life of the director, shining a light through the dense fog of depression.
Advance viewing is optional, select scenes and montages will be shown on the day.
9.30am – open
10am – first session
12.00pm – lunch
12.45pm – second session
2.45pm – tea break
3pm – third session
5.00pm – finish
Tea and coffee will be provided during both breaks. Please note: there is no cafe on site, however, you are welcome to bring your own lunch, which can be consumed in the classroom, or the Museum garden if the weather is fine.
PROJECTIONS is psychoanalysis for film interpretation. PROJECTIONS empowers film spectators to express subjective associations they consider to be meaningful. Expertise in psychoanalytic theory is not necessary – the only prerequisite is the desire to enter and inhabit the imaginary world of film, which is itself a psychoanalytic act. MARY WILD, a Freudian cinephile from Montreal, is the creator of PROJECTIONS.
