More Cannes first looks. This one is for Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s “Coward,” playing in competition, following his first two films, which also premiered on the Croisette. We weren’t sure if this one would make it into this year’s lineup, but it was submitted past the deadline—and accepted.
Dhont, 34, describes “Coward” as “a film about love and death, creation and destruction. A film about survival and how, sometimes, even in darkness, something beautiful manages to grow. Coward is a tribute to those who, throughout the centuries, were sent to fight—and those who tried to escape it at any cost.”
The first image from the WWI drama (pictured below) introduces Pierre, a young Belgian soldier confronting fear and bravery amid the chaos of battle. Away from the front, he encounters Francis, who is tasked with discovering methods to uplift the troops’ spirits, according to the producers’ synopsis.
Following his consecutive acclaimed Cannes films—“Girl” (2018), which won the Camera d’Or, and “Close” (2022), awarded the Grand Prix—Dhont returns to the festival with his third feature, marking his debut in historical drama. Coward brings the director together again with longtime co-writer Angelo Tijssens. No U.S. distributor is attached yet. Neon, you there?
