Belgian film director Lukas Dhont in competition for Cannes festival Palme d'Or with third feature ‘Coward’

The third feature film by Belgian director Lukas Dhont, Coward, is to be presented in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival in May, the festival has announced.

Dhont will makes history by becoming the first Flemish director to have three of his feature films selected for the official competition, the Palme d’Or.

The prestigious film festival runs from 13 to 24 May in the French riviera resort.

Dhont’s debut film Girl was screened in 2018 in the Un Certain Regard section and won the Caméra d'Or. With his second feature, Close, he was awarded the Grand Prix in the 2022 competition.

Coward will have its world premiere at this year’s festival. The historical drama recounts the story of young soldier Pierre, who, during the First World War, wants to prove himself on the front lines. Here he meets Francis, whose mission is to find a way to boost troop morale. Two relatively unknown young actors play the lead roles: Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne.

For Dhont, it was an “extreme honour” to present a film at Cannes for the third time. “Coward is the result of a collective effort and my most ambitious film to date. A film about love and death, building and destruction,” he said.

“A film about survival and how, sometimes, even in the darkness, something beautiful manages to emerge. Coward is a tribute to those who, throughout the centuries, have been forced to fight. And to those who tried, at all costs, to escape it," he added.

Coward goes on general release in cinemas in the autumn.

In addition, the predominantly Belgian film Our Salvation by Emmanuel Marre will be presented in competition at Cannes. The French director's second feature film follows Rien à foutre, co-directed with Julie Lecoustre and presented at Cannes during Critics' Week in 2021.

It is produced by Michigan Films and supported by the film centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

Photo: Coward ©The Reunion/Lumière