Dogme 95 or Dogma 95 is an avant-garde filmmaking movement started in 1995 by the Danish directors Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg with the signing of the Dogme 95 Manifesto and the "Vow of Chastity".^[1] They were later joined by fellow Danish directors Kristian Levring and Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, to form a group sometimes known as the Dogme 95 Collective or the Dogme Brethren.

The genre gained international appeal partly because of its accessibility. It sparked off an interest in unknown filmmakers by creating the possibility that one can make a recognised film without being dependent on commissions or huge Hollywood budgets, depending on European government subsidies and television stations instead. The movement has been criticised for being a disguised attempt to gain media attention. It could be said that as the founding Dogme directors have declined offers to work in Hollywood they are not interested in media (or commercial) attention to further their career or gain recognition. Dogme was initiated to cause a stir and to make filmmakers and audiences re-think the art, effect and essence of filmmaking. It has been said that Dogme has strong roots in the radical New Wave movement of the sixties.