Filmmaker Lars von Trier diagnosed with Parkinson’s

By The Associated Press

Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier, known for films like “Melancholia” and “Dancer in the Dark,” has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his production company Zentropa said Monday. The company said it released the information in order to avoid speculation about his health leading up to the premiere of his series “The Kingdom Exodus” at the Venice Film Festival next month. Zentropa said von Trier, 66, was diagnosed at the beginning of the summer. Von Trier is a celebrated and controversial filmmaker who was famously banned from the Cannes Film Festival for seven years after making comments sympathetic towards Nazis at a press conference in 2011.