Lukas Dhont’s Coward wins Prix du Cinéma Positif at Cannes
Director Lukas Dhont has won the Prix du Cinéma Positif at the Cannes Film Festival for his feature Coward. The prize is given to a movie that inspires hope, resilience and kindness.
Coward, a moving story set on the Belgian front during the First World War, is Dhont’s second feature film to be screened in competition. It tells the story of Pierre, a young Belgian soldier who wants to prove himself on the front line. There he meets Francis, who has been tasked with boosting the troops’ morale.
Coward, starring Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, received a standing ovation when it was screened on Thursday. It is also in the running for a Palme d’Or, the highest prize awarded to the director of the best feature film in the festival's official competition.
His previous movie, Close, won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2022. “I felt that Close had convinced a great many people of me and the team,” Dhont, from Ghent, told De Standaard.
“But there is also a conviction that this project is relevant right now. The idea that conscription could be reintroduced has brought the notion of being young and being sent off to wage war back into the spotlight. I made a film about the past because I wanted to say something about the present.”
#FlandersNewsService | Lukas Dhont in Cannes © PHOTO BIANCA CRUZ / AFP
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