Coward

After winning the Caméra d’or for Girl (2018) and the Grand Prix for Close (2022), the youthful Belgian director Lukas Dhont returned to the Cannes Film Festival Competition earlier this year. His new film Coward reinvents the war movie and dares to tell a bittersweet love story set just behind the front line in 1916.

As the First World War drags on, Pierre, a soldier newly arrived at the front, is eager to prove himself. Behind the lines, he meets Francis, who decides to lift the spirits of his comrades by putting together a theatre show. While the violence continues, both men try to find ways to escape the brutality of war, even if only for a moment. Cannes shared best actor award for Macchia and Campagne.