28/08/2012 - The Danish director begins an 11-week shoot in Germany and Belgium for a woman's erotic journey from birth to the age of 50 in two versions, soft and hard

Danish director Lars von Trier will today (August 28) begin an 11-week shoot for part one of Nymphomaniac – his own script for a woman’s erotic journey from birth to the age of 50 – in North Rhein-Westphalia, Germany, then for a shorter period in Flanders, Belgium.

Both appeared in von Trier's Melancholia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lars von Trier
film profile], French actress Charlotte Gainsbourg and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård will play the leads as Jo, a self-diagnosed nymphomanic, and Seligman, an old charming bachelor who on a cold winter evening finds her beaten up in an alley. He takes her home, and in eight chapters she tells him about her life.

The preliminary cast includes Stacy Marti (young Jo), Shia Labeouf, Jamie Bell, Connie Nielsen, Mia Goth, Jens Albinus, Severin von Hoensbroech, Peter Gilberg Cotton, Nicolas Bro, Tabea Tarbiat, Janine Romanowski, Jesper Christensen, Tania Carlin, Felicity Gilbert and Shanti Roney.

Von Trier has declared that ”as a culture radical I can hardly explore a woman's sexual development without a graphic depiction of intercourse - an actual penetration. It does not mean it will be a porn movie, simply a film with a lot of sex and a lot of philosophy."

Due to censorship reasons, the feature will accordingly be distributed in different versions – one with hardcore scenes, the other softer and less explicit. Zentropa Entertainments has emphasised that live sex sequences will be performed by body doubles or filmed with visual effects.

Nymphomaniac is produced by Louise Vesth for Zentropa in co-production with Bettina Brokemper for Zentropa International Köln, Marianne Slot for Slot Machine (Paris) and Bert Hamelinck for Caviar Films (Brussels). Denmark's TrustNordisk will handle international sales.