Congratulations to queer Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont, whose latest film COWARD (which is only his 4th!) has just won the prestigious Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival.  It’s part of a mutual love affair between Dhont and the Festival that began with his first film GIRL, which won him both the Caméra d’Or and the  Queer Palm and a nomination for  Prix Un Certain Regard

For  CLOSE his second film in 2022 he won The Grand Prix, the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d’Or. 

On the western front in the First World War, Belgian soldiers got permission to form a theatrical troupe, often in drag, to entertain their comrades when they are behind the lines and raise their morale. Directed and co-written by this story of a gay affair in the army is heartfelt and well acted, if rather earnestly researched.   Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian wrote  Lukas Dhont’s war-set gay romance is a heartfelt examination of cowardice and lives lived in secret amid the brutality of battle