Rønde was born in Aarhus, Denmark and worked as a professional musician until he graduated in Film Studies and Art History from the University of Copenhagen in 2002.

In 2013, he won two Cannes Lions, gold and bronze, for direction and cinematography.

[1][6] In 2015, he released his first fiction feature film "Bridgend" starring Hannah Murray.

Rønde allegedly spent six years travelling to and from Bridgend for doing research on the topic.

[7] The movie received multiple nominations and awards internationally[8] but was viewed in Wales as sensationalist, lacking truth and exploitative.