Johan Knattrup Jensen is a writer, film director and artist, born 1979 in Odder, Denmark.
He graduated from independent film school Super16 in 2012 with the critically acclaimed fiction film ‘Verdenssøn // Copenhagen Love Story’, about the tragic, last days of celebrated Danish poet Michael Strunge. In recognition of his work, he received a grant from the Danish Arts Foundation in 2013.
In 2014 the innovative film installation ‘The Doghouse’ opened in Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre. Through cutting edge virtual reality technology the audience experiences the characters’ individual, subjective points of view. In the following years the installation toured around the world, establishing Johan as a part of the international elite within VR and art film.
From 2015 he was the artistic lead of progressive, Copenhagen-based studio Makropol, focusing on immersive art and VR film.
As artistic director Johan created a multitude of work, including ‘Ewa Out Of Body’, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016, and ‘Anthropia’, a 400m2 film installation, which opened at Copenhagen Contemporary in 2017.
His work have been presented at the most influential art and film festivals worldwide, including New York International Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, Future Of Storytelling, CAFA Museum Beijing, SMK Copenhagen, Malmö Konsthall, and many more. His work have received several awards, including Grand Prix Innovation from FNC and Reflet d’Or from GIFF.
‘Anthropia’ even received the great honor of a private screening for both Lars von Trier and Olafur Eliasson – on the same day.
After the premiere of ‘Martyr’ at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in 2020, Johan chose to devote himself to his work with cinema, setting his installations and performances on hold. This also meant leaving Makropol.
In the following years Johan collaborated with legendary producer Peter Aalbæk and famed film studio Zentropa in the development of new work.
In 2023 the prestigious Production Bridge at the Venice Biennale chose Johan as 1 out of 14 directors from the world to present new work in development.
2023 also marked Johan’s return to mainstream cinema with the premiere of ‘Homecoming’ at Odense IFF in 2023, produced by the visionary studio Hyæne Film, with whom Johan currently develops new work.
In addition to his cinematic work Johan is the author of several podcasts, with one, ‘Nightmare of a Nation’, being in top10 of best, new podcasts in 2023, according to both Apple and Spotify.
He has also both written and directed several plays; including an adaptation for the stage of Ingmar Bergman’s ‘Through A Glass Darkly’ at Regionteatern in Sweden in 2018, his own ‘The Shared Individual’ at The Danish Royal Theatre in 2017, and the adaptation of Paul Auster’s ‘Mr. Vertigo’ at Betty Nansen Theatre in Denmark in 2005 with Søren Malling, Pilou Asbæk and Peter Gantzler among others.
Johan is also an active musician and has released several acclaimed albums with his band 1000LAX.
