Made a student film, "Orkide gartneren/The Orchid Gardener", which helped him gain admission to the Danish Film School

Made the medium-length (60 mins.) film, "Liberation Pictures/Image of a Relief", which he wrote and directed, as a graduate school project; won second prize at an annual European Film School Competition and was promptly picked up by Britain's Channel 4

Feature film debut, "The Element of Crime", which he wrote and directed; was the first film in his "Europe" trilogy; also played the role of "Schmuck of Ages"

Appeared as an actor only in the Danish children's film, "A World of Difference"

Began making the film "Dimension" in three-minute segments to be finished each year; the film is scheduled to be completed in the year 2024

Made third and last film in his "European" trilogy, "Europa/Zentropa"

Made a miniseries for Dutch TV, "The Kingdom", which was then transferred to 35mm film and received an international release theatrically

Films were subject of a retrospective held by Lincoln Center in NYC

With fellow Dane Thomas Vinterberg, issued Dogme 95, a manifesto on cinema requiring helmers to take a "vow of Chastity" and shoot films with no score, using natural light and other techniques

Garnered critical acclaim for "Breaking the Waves"

Helmed the second film made under Dogme 95, "The Idiots"

Directed the musical feature "Dancer in the Dark", starring Bjork; also co-wrote lyrics to songs; shared a Best Original Song Oscar nomination for "I've Seen It All"

Directed Nicole Kidman in "Dogville," about a woman on the run from a team of gangsters hiding out in the small town of Dogville

Scripted the feature "Dear Wendy" directed by fellow Dane Thomas Vinterberg

Helmed "Manderlay," the second film in Trier's U.S.A. trilogy, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, Danny Glover, and Willem Dafoe