Susanne Bier is a Danish

Danes

Danish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...

 film director

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 best known for her feature films Brothers, After the Wedding

After the Wedding

After the Wedding is a 2006 Danish drama directed by Susanne Bier, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sidse Babett Knudsen. The film was a critical and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but lost out to The Lives of Others.In 2009 it was announced that...

and the Academy-Award-winning In a Better World

In a Better World

In a Better World is a 2010 Danish-Swedish drama thriller film written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier. The film stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in a story which takes place in small-town Denmark and a refugee camp in Africa.A Danish majority...

.

Life and work

Susanne Bier was born to Jewish parents in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. She studied art and architecture at Jerusalem University prior to her acceptance to the National Film School of Denmark

National Film School of Denmark

TheNational Film School of Denmark is an independent institution under the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was established in 1966 and is based on Holmen in the harbour of Copenhagen.-History:...

 from where she graduated in 1987. She went on to direct various films in Denmark and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, her first commercial success being the romantic comedy The One and Only

The One and Only (1999 film)

The One and Only is a 1999 Danish romantic comedy film directed by Susanne Bier. The film starred Sidse Babett Knudsen, Niels Olsen, Rafael Edholm, and Paprika Steen in story about two unfaithful married couples faced with becoming first-time parents...

in 1999. Later films include Brothers (2004), After the Wedding

After the Wedding

After the Wedding is a 2006 Danish drama directed by Susanne Bier, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sidse Babett Knudsen. The film was a critical and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but lost out to The Lives of Others.In 2009 it was announced that...

(2006) and In a Better World

In a Better World

In a Better World is a 2010 Danish-Swedish drama thriller film written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier. The film stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in a story which takes place in small-town Denmark and a refugee camp in Africa.A Danish majority...

(2010) which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

. Things We Lost in the Fire

Things We Lost in the Fire

Things We Lost in the Fire is a 2001 album by Low, their fifth full-length release. In 2006, the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.-Track listing:# "Sunflower" – 4:39...

(2007) is her only American film to date, however it was recently announced that she will direct the American adaptation of Rapt

Rapt

Rapt may refer to :* Rapt , a movie directed by Benjamin Lemaire* Rapt, a 2009 film* Rapt: la séparation des races, a 1934 movie directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff* Rapt...

.

Filmography

• Freud's Leaving Home (Freud flytter hjemmefra...) (1991)
• Family Matters (Det bli'r i familien) (1994)
• Like It Never Was Before (Pensionat Oskar) (1995)
• Credo (Sekten) (1997)
• The One and Only
  The One and Only (1999 film)
  The One and Only is a 1999 Danish romantic comedy film directed by Susanne Bier. The film starred Sidse Babett Knudsen, Niels Olsen, Rafael Edholm, and Paprika Steen in story about two unfaithful married couples faced with becoming first-time parents...
  
  (Den eneste ene) (1999)
• Once in a Lifetime (Livet är en schlager) (2000)
• Open Hearts
  Open Hearts (2002 film)
  Open Hearts , is a 2002 Danish drama film directed by Susanne Bier using the minimalist filmmaking techniques of the Dogme 95 manifest. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Sonja Richter and Paprika Steen. Also referred to as Dogme #28, Open Hearts relates the story of two couples whose lives...
  
  (Elsker dig for evigt) (2002)
• Brothers (Brødre) (2004)
• After the Wedding
  After the Wedding
  After the Wedding is a 2006 Danish drama directed by Susanne Bier, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sidse Babett Knudsen. The film was a critical and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but lost out to The Lives of Others.In 2009 it was announced that...
  
  (Efter brylluppet) (2006)
• Things We Lost in the Fire
  Things We Lost in the Fire
  Things We Lost in the Fire is a 2001 album by Low, their fifth full-length release. In 2006, the album was performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.-Track listing:# "Sunflower" – 4:39...
  
  (2007)
• In a Better World
  In a Better World
  In a Better World is a 2010 Danish-Swedish drama thriller film written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier. The film stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in a story which takes place in small-town Denmark and a refugee camp in Africa.A Danish majority...
  
  (Hævnen) (2010)

Reputation

Bier has been praised as being a director capable of making films that appeal to an international market (although she has yet to make a successful transition to Hollywood filmmaking). This is reflected by the fact that After the Wedding

After the Wedding

After the Wedding is a 2006 Danish drama directed by Susanne Bier, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Sidse Babett Knudsen. The film was a critical and popular success and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but lost out to The Lives of Others.In 2009 it was announced that...

(2006) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

 and In a Better World

In a Better World

In a Better World is a 2010 Danish-Swedish drama thriller film written by Anders Thomas Jensen and directed by Susanne Bier. The film stars Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm, and Ulrich Thomsen in a story which takes place in small-town Denmark and a refugee camp in Africa.A Danish majority...

(2010) went on to win the award. In her native Denmark, however, her films are often considered overly commercial and lacking in artistic value.

External links