Hattrick for Belgian film in Cannes

While Flemish director Lukas Dhont missed out on the top prize at the 79th Cannes Film Festival with 'Coward', the lead actors in his film, Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, were jointly awarded the Best Actor prize. Belgian actress Virginie Efira received the award for Best Actress alongside her co-star Tao Okamoto. The Belgian film 'Notre Salut' by Emmanuel Marre won the award for Best Screenplay. The Palme d'Or went to Romanian Cristian Mungiu for 'Fjord'

'Coward' tells the story of Pierre (played by Emmanuel Macchia), a young Belgian soldier who wants to prove himself at the front during the First World War. There, he meets Francis (Valentin Campagne), who has been tasked with boosting the troops' morale. ​ It is the third time Dhont has won awards with his films at Cannes. In 2018, he won the Caméra d'Or (the award for best debut) with his feature film debut 'Girl', and in 2022, its successor, Close, was awarded the Grand Prix (the second-highest honor).

Dhont immediately received congratulations from, among others, Flemish Minister of Culture Caroline Gennez. "Lukas Dhont is an exceptional filmmaker and a generous ambassador for our film scene. His cinema dares to make vulnerability grand, and gives young people a dignified voice.”.

Virginie Efira

Belgian actress Virginie Efira and Japanese actress Tao Okamoto have jointly received the award for Best Actress for their roles in the film 'Soudain' by Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The film is a co-production with the Liège-based production companies Tarantula and Gapbusters. Efira plays the role of the director of a nursing home who wants to make her institution more humane. She crosses paths with a Japanese theater director suffering from incurable cancer, played by Tao Okamoto.

The Belgian film 'Notre Salut' by Emmanuel Marre has won the award for Best Screenplay. It is a Belgian production (Michigan Films) supported by the French-speaking community, and the director lives and works in Brussels. 'Notre Salut' is set during the Vichy regime in World War II.

_{#FlandersNewsService | ​ French actor Valentin Campagne (L) and Belgian actor Emmanuel Macchia (R) pose with Belgian director Lukas Dhont. © Thibaud MORITZ / AFP}