The Oligarch and the Art Dealer

Andreas Dalsgaard / Danmark, Frankrig, Holland, Schweiz & USA / 2026 / Verdenspremiere / 174 min

Her er en historie, der bare har det hele. Magt og manipulation, korruption og anklager om bedrageri, pengebeløb i milliardklassen og – ikke mindst – et persongalleri af kulørte karakterer, som man simpelthen ikke ville kunne opfinde i sin vildeste fantasi. Og det hele begynder med et venskab.

Da den schweiziske kunsthandler Yves Bouvier møder den russiske oligark Dmitry Rybolovlev stiger han hurtigt i graderne. Fra en rolle som diskret rådgiver bliver han en global magtspiller og forvalter af Rybolovlevs investeringer på et af verdens mest lukkede og gådefulde markeder: Den del af kunstverdenen, hvor beløbene er svimlende og værkernes værdi er noget, som en smal elite af kendere er blevet enige om.

Men da venskabet mellem Bouvier og Rybolovlev pludselig eksploderer, afsløres et net af løgne og manipulation. Spørgsmålet er bare, hvem der egentlig har ret? ‘The Oligarch and the Art Dealer’ er fortalt i tre afsnit, der her vises samlet for første gang, og som fortæller den uforudsigelige og underholdende historie i alle dens utrolige detaljer.

The incredible story of one of the 21st century’s most sensational art scandals is a ten-year war over billions between a Russian oligarch and a Swiss art dealer.

This is a story that has it all: power and manipulation, corruption and accusations of fraud, sums of money in the billions — and not least a cast of colorful characters that one could hardly invent even in the wildest imagination. And it all begins with a friendship.

When the Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier meets the Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev, he quickly rises through the ranks. From a role as a discreet adviser, he becomes a global power broker and manager of Rybolovlev’s investments in one of the world’s most closed and enigmatic markets: the part of the art world where the sums are staggering and the value of artworks is something agreed upon by a narrow elite of connoisseurs and ultrarich tycoons.

But when the friendship between Bouvier and Rybolovlev suddenly explodes, a web of lies is revealed. The question is: who is really in the right? ‘The Oligarch and the Art Dealer’ is a series in three episodes of which the first premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The full series is
shown for the first time at CPH:DOX, and recounts the unpredictable and entertaining story in all its astonishing detail.

Skabt af Christoph Jörg og Andreas Dalsgaard.