Erik Nietzsche(LARS VON TRIER), The Early Years

The work of Lars Von Trier is always of interest but in his latest script Erik Nietzsche, The Early Years, it promises a fresh insight into filmmaking and art schools in general. The script itself is purported to be autobiographical and is billed as a comedy-drama. As the project developed, Lars Von Trier's name has faded from view to be replaced in the credits by none other than the fictitious Erik Nietzsche.

Here is the description from the Danish Film Institute:

Erik Nietzsche is an intelligent but in many ways inexperienced shy young man who is convinced that he wants to be a film director. In the late 1970s Erik is accepted by the Danish National Film School where he enters a world of angry unhelpful tutors, weird fellow students and unwritten rules. It is both an exhilarating and angst-provoking period and Erik feels increasingly like a foreigner in the film industry. Frequently, he is merely an observer of the absurdities that surround him. He encounters trade union disputes, falls in love and experiences self-assured empowered women who refuse to make a commitment. It is a drama full of comedy — a sharp portrait of a conceited but entertaining world of film which we suspect our dogged young director will eventually concur with his vision.

Links:
Danish Film Institute film profile
Twitch post (source)
Lars Von Trier interview collection