The Hunt (2012 film)

The Hunt
Danish theatrical release poster
DanishJagten
Directed byThomas Vinterberg
Written by
Produced by
StarringMads Mikkelsen
CinematographyCharlotte Bruus Christensen
Edited by
  • Anne Østerud
  • Janus Billeskov Jansen
Music byNikolaj Egelund
Production
company
Distributed byNordisk Film
Release dates
  • 20 May 2012 (2012-05-20) (Cannes)
  • 10 January 2013 (2013-01-10) (Denmark)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryDenmark
LanguagesDanish
English
Budget$3.45 million
Box office$18.3 million

The Hunt (Danish: Jagten) is a 2012 Danish psychological drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and starring Mads Mikkelsen. Set in a small Danish village around Christmas, the film follows a man named Lucas, a divorced kindergarten teacher who becomes the target of mass hysteria after being wrongly accused of sexually abusing a child in his class.

The film gained critical acclaim for Mikkelsen's performance and Vinterberg's direction. Many have described it as one of the best psychological drama films of its time. It was competed at the 65th Cannes Film Festival, where Mikkelsen won the Best Actor Award for his role, and was also screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, among other film festivals. It won the 2013 Nordic Council Film Prize and was one of the nominees for Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Golden Globe Awards. It was the Danish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 86th Academy Awards and was selected as one of the final five nominees.