66-year-old Danish film director Lars von Trier has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. His production company Zentropa announced this on Monday amid speculation about von Trier’s absence from promotional work on his television series The Kingdom Exodus to prevent. The brain disease that makes moving and talking increasingly difficult was diagnosed early this summer with von Trier, famous for films such as Dancer in the Dark (2000) and Melancholia (2011).
Zentropa has not given any details about his well-being, but von Trier is said to be “in good spirits” and being treated for his symptoms. The premiere of The Kingdom Exodus at the Venice Film Festival next month, according to the production company, is not endangered by the director’s illness.
Von Trier, who has been active for four decades, has won several prestigious film awards – such as the Golden Palm for Dancer in the Dark – but was the subject of controversy at other times. In 2011, he was banned from the Cannes Film Festival for seven years for expressing Nazi sympathies during a press conference.
The Kingdom Exodus is the third and final season of a series that first premiered in Denmark in 1994, but is not available in many countries.