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O.V. in French with English and Spanish subtitles
As in his debut feature Girl (2018), Belgian director Lukas Dhont has once again handled extremely fragile material with the utmost delicacy. Léo (Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (Gustave De Waele) share an intense summer friendship, in all the purity and gaiety of a 13-year-old. Until, upon returning to school, rumours of their relationship shatter this unique bond. Are they just friends or is there more to it, and does it matter? Dhont traces the devastating effects of imposed models of masculinity on two young men in the process of constructing their respective identities. Winner ex aequo of the Cannes Jury Prize, none of the other films in competition brought so many people to tears.
Direction: Lukas Dhont
Script: Angelo Tijssens, Lukas Dhont,
Cinematography: Frank van den Eeden
Editing: Alain Dessauvage
Music: Valentin Hadjadj
Cast: Léa Drucker, Émilie Dequenne, Kevin Janssens, Igor Van Dessel, Marc Weiss, Eden Dambrine
Production: Menuet, Diaphana, Topkapi Films, Versus Production, VTM, RTBF - Radio Télévision Belge Francophone
Distributor: Lumière, Diaphana Distribution
International sales: The Match Factory
Born in Ghent (1991), he studied Audiovisual Arts at the KASK Art School. His first short films Headlong and L’Infini, were highly acclaimed, the latter being shortlisted for the 2015 Oscars. With a residency grant at the Cinéfondation de Cannes, he worked on Girl, which won the Caméra d’Or for best debut feature at its 2018 premiere. The film also won the Fipresci Award for Best Actor and the Queer Palm, and the European Film Academy also honored it with the European Discovery FIPRESCI Award in Seville. In the short film Our Nature (2021), he choreographs the essential themes of his work such as human contact, dance and change. His latest film Close premiered at Cannes, where it won the Grand Prix.
