A graduate of the Danish Film Institute, Bille August began his career in television and entered film production as a cinematographer on "Hemat i Natten/Homeward in the Night" (1977). The following year saw his first work as a director; he made both a short film, "Kim G.", and the feature "Honning Maane", which he also wrote. The latter was a generally well-received if small-scale study of a young couple which suggested a way with actors and an attention to character detail. August did not direct another feature, though, for five years, during which he worked in television and shot such
