Two Belgian films in the running for Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival

The 79th edition of the star-studded and influential Cannes Film Festival is underway at the French Riviera, complete with a sprinkling of Belgian cinematic talent.

After 12 days of non-stop premieres of films from around the world, the stylish event will culminate on 23 May with the presentation of the prestigious Palme d’Or.

Two Belgian films are competing for this ultimate prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition; an auteur-heavy line-up this year.

With Coward (pictured above), Flemish director Lukas Dhont presents his third film at the Croisette, while the Belgian production Notre Salut (Our Salvation) comes courtesy of Brussels-based French director Emmanuel Marre.

Dhont returns to the festival with Cannes accolades already under his belt after his debut film Girl won the 2018 Caméra d'Or, and second feature Close was awarded the Grand Prix in 2022.

Coward will have its world premiere on 21 May. It recounts the story of young Belgian 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. As fighting rages, they attempt to escape the brutality of war, however fleetingly. 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," added Dhont. The film goes on general release in cinemas in the autumn.

Marre’s Notre Salut (pictured above), which will be screened on 20 May, is a Belgian production by Michigan Films and supported by the film centre of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation.

The director draws on the story of his own great-grandfather during the Second World War in this drama set in France. In September 1940, Henri Marre arrives alone in Vichy as the authoritarian regime settles in. Penniless, estranged from his family, and carrying copies of his self-published manifesto Notre Salut, the 49-year-old is determined to secure what he believes is his rightful place in the new administration. 

It is Marre's second feature following Rien à foutre, co-directed with Julie Lecoustre and presented at Cannes during Critics' Week in 2021.

Several Belgian co-production are also being screened at Cannes. They include Parallel Tales by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi and Sanguine by French director Marion Le Corroller. Opening the festival on 12 May was Franco-Belgian co-production La Venus electrique by Pierre Salvadori.

Meanwhile, Belgian director Laura Wandel (Un monde and L'Interêt d'Adam) sits on the jury of the film festival alongside Hollywood star Demi Moore, Chinese director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland and Hamnet) and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, among others. The jury is chaired by South Korean director Park Chan-wook, best known for his Vengeance Trilogy, The Handmaiden and Oldboy.

Photo: Coward ©Thomas Nolf/The Reunion; Notre Salut ©Michigan Films