From Washington, DC to New York and Los Angeles, The Danish Girl is making a splash as film reels start rolling in movie houses throughout the US.
The Danish Girl special screening
Last Monday, The Danish Girl was given a special screening at the White House as part of their “Champions of Change” event with Jake Graf, Alicia Vikander, Rebecca Root, and Academy Award-winning director Tom Hooper making an appearance at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, DC.
The movie then opened in select theatres in New York and LA last Friday, and is set to open in additional cities this December.
Based on David Ebershoff’s book, The Danish Girl is a love story inspired by the lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, portrayed respectively by Academy Award-winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) and Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina),
Directed by Academy Award-winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech, Les Misérables), the movie presents how Lili and Gerda’s marriage evolved even as Lili took the groundbreaking journey as a transgender, a pioneer during her time.
The Danish Girl and the Champions of Change
The movie The Danish Girl was shown during the White House recognition of nine “White House LGBT Artists Champions of Change” last Monday. These individuals were selected by the White House for their artistry in advocating for the LGBT community.
The Focus Features film was also presented together with the show Transparent from Amazon Studios.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of the White House’s Champions of Change event. Being here with the trailblazing LGBT activists and artists and the ground-breaking team from Transparent is about encouraging people to be their authentic selves,” Hooper said.
Hooper noted that though Lili Elbe didn’t have the community and roadmap to acceptance almost a century ago, she did have the unconditional love of her wife Gerda.
“We hope that our film inspires people to embrace their true selves and to support the lives of transgender people across the world,” the director said.
Who is the Danish Girl?
The historical Elbe, (or Lili Ilse Elvenes) was a Danish transgender woman and one of the first identifiable recipients of sex reassignment surgery. She was married to Gottlieb, another artist.
Born Einar Magnus Andreas Wegener, she had been a successful artist under that name. Her transition first started when Elbe started dressing in women’s clothes while filling in as Gottlieb’s model.
Ironically, Gottlieb became famous for her paintings of beautiful women whose model was actually Elbe.
Check out the trailer below for The Danish Girl.
