Danish director Lars Von Trier was expelled from the Cannes film festival today after remarks he made at a news conference, apparently in jest, in which he declared himself a Nazi and Hitler sympathiser.
"The festival's board of directors . . . profoundly regrets that this forum has been used by Lars Von Trier to express comments that are unacceptable, intolerable, and contrary to the ideals of humanity and generosity that preside over the very existence of the festival," the festival said in a statement.
"The board of directors firmly condemns these comments and declares Lars Von Trier a persona non grata at the Festival de Cannes, with effect immediately."
The director made his comments at a press conference to promote his new film Melancholia, which played in competition last night. He made the remarks when he was asked about his German roots. While Kirsten Dunst, star of Melancholia, squirmed in an adjacent seat, Von Trier rambled erratically.
“I thought I was a Jew for a long time and was very happy being a Jew,” he said. “Then it turned out that I was not a Jew . . . I found out that I was really a Nazi, which also gave me some pleasure.”
It got worse. Warming to his theme, Von Trier continued: “What can I say? I understand Hitler. He did some wrong things, absolutely, but I can see him sitting there in his bunker at the end . . . Yes, I sympathise with him a little bit.”
Mr Von Trier won the Palme d'Or, one of cinema's great honours, in 2000 for Dancer in Dark. However, his explusion from Cannes would seem to rule out any chance the director had of receiving a second award.
The American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and their Descendants, which had complained after the remarks were first reported, welcomed Cannes' decision to throw Mr Von Trier out.
"The organisers of the Cannes film festival have eloquently taken a determined moral stand against cavalier expressions of hate and insensitivity to those brutalised by the Nazis - Jew and non-Jew," said the group's vice president, Elan Steinberg.
"We cannot look into Von Trier's heart to judge the sincerity of the 'apology' he issued. Only his future words and actions can tell us whether he understands the hurt he has caused."
France's main Jewish organisation CRIF said the comments were part of what it called "the worrying tendency of normalising Nazism."