%20(5).jpg)
The Danish Girl is an American-British-German-Danish biographical film co-produced and directed by Tom Hooper, released in 2015 and presented in competition at the 2015 Venice Film Festival.
Set in mid-1920s Copenhagen, Denmark, the love story and remarkable destiny of Danish artist Lili Elbe, née Einar Wegener, an esteemed landscape painter who became the first transgender woman in history to undergo sex reassignment surgery, and his wife Gerda Wegener, a socialite portrait painter. Their marriage, however strong and sincere, is put to the test, and their development, both personal and professional, is threatened as they embark on the uncharted territories of trans-identity while facing social disapproval.
Based on a true story, the film tells the story of Lili Elbe, a Danish artist who became known as the first person to undergo gender reassignment surgery. Director Tom Hooper based the film on David Ebershoff's 2000 novel of the same name.
Part of the story takes place in Paris, but the scenes were shot in Belgium for artistic reasons. Art Nouveau was the setting the director was looking for, he says: "To me, this movement represents the rejection of masculine, linear artistic values, and the evolution towards a more feminine design. Finding the architecture of Brussels much more expressive of this idea, the Belgian capital was chosen.