On the cusp of adolescence, Léo and Rémi spend their carefree summer building an intimate bond of friendship, but as their days of bicycle rides through dappled flower farms and cuddling sleepovers fade into the school year, their closeness is scrutinized and called out by their classmates. Rémi is unfazed, determined to stay true to their friendship, while Léo is angry and distraught, pulling away from Rémi out of self-conscious fear and taking up ice hockey to distance himself from his best friend. As the rift between them widens into an irreparable, tragic rupture, Léo struggles through feelings of guilt and responsibility for his betrayal, and connects with Rémi’s mother, Sophie, in the hopes of making sense of the world he now lives in. Director Lukas Dhont captures Léo and Rémi’s boyhood with a gentle vision of youth and innocence, exploring the fragile nature of friendship and masculinity in this stunningly lyrical tour de force.
Grand Prix (tied), Cannes 2022
Community Partner
Lukas Dhont
Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele, Émilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker, Kevin Janssens, Marc Weiss, Igor Van Dessel, Léon Bataille
Belgium/France/Netherlands
2022
In French and Dutch with English subtitles
Self Harm, Gender or Sexual Discrimination
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Vivaldi and Me
Venice, 1716. Composer Antonio Vivaldi teaches at an orphanage for abandoned girls, and establishes a deep rapport with violinist Cecelia — but their collaboration is threatened by her impending arranged marriage.
Rear Window
James Stewart is the man who sees too much. "Jeff" Jeffries is a sports photographer waylaid by a broken leg, doomed to spend the summer in a wheelchair in his New York apartment. That's how he comes to witness a murder in the dead of night (or does he?).
Rose of Nevada
This disconcerting film from the director of Bait and Enys Men feels like a message from another era: two men sign on to a Cornish fishing trawler, but when they return to port they are welcomed into the community 30 years before they left...
To Die For
Buck Henry (The Graduate) wrote this acidic black comedy about a ruthless weather girl on the make (Nicole Kidman in her breakout role). A young Joaquin Phoenix is the dim teen she seduces on her way to achieving stardom.
Camp
Reeling from two devastating tragedies, Emily (Zola Grimmer) takes refuge at a summer camp for troubled youth, where she has been offered a position as counsellor. She finds friendship, but also something more unexpected, something truly troubling...
Credits
Producer
Michiel Dhont, Dirk Impens
Screenwriter
Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens
Cinematography
Frank van den Eeden
Editor
Alain Dessauvage
Production Design
Eve Martin
Original Music
Valentin Hadjadj
