27/08/2018 - Young Flemish filmmaker Lukas Dhont is taking part in his first Oscars race, representing his country as he eyes the Academy Award for Best Foreign-language Film with his debut film

Lukas Dhont’s Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile] is a staggering debut film about the emotional and physical struggle of a young transgender woman on the cusp of transformation. Already festooned with awards left, right and centre, Girl is thus treading a fairly unsurprising path. After having made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival (where it scooped the Caméra d’Or, the Best Actor Award for the astounding Victor Polster, the FIPRESCI Award and the Queer Palm), the movie has already started enjoying a successful international festival run. After being screened at Karlovy Vary, Palić (winning the Best Film Award) and Odessa (snagging the Best Actor Award), the film will soon take part in the San Sebastián and Toronto International Film Festivals. It will also be the opening movie at the Film Fest Gent on 9 October.

In addition, it is one of the ten films nominated for the LUX Prize, and last week, it was announced that it would be among the movies nominated for the European Film Awards. It’s had a near-flawless journey so far, and now we await the film’s French (10 October) and Belgian (17 Octobers) releases. Girl was produced by Menuet, and was co-produced on the French-language side by Frakas Production and in the Netherlands by Topkapi Films. 

Girl thus follows in the footsteps of Racer and the Jailbird [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Michael Roskam
film profile] by Michael R Roskam, The Ardennes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Robin Pront
film profile] by Robin Pront and The Brand New Testament [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaco van Dormael
film profile] by Jaco Van Dormael, which made it as far as the shortlist in 2016. Since 1968, seven Belgian films have got through to the final five, as was the case in 1995 for Farinelli by Gérard Corbiau and, more recently, The Broken Circle Breakdown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Felix van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
film profile] by Felix Van Groeningen in 2014 and Bullhead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bart Van Langendonck
interview: Michaël R. Roskam
film profile] by Michaël Roskam in 2012.

Will Menuet do as well as it did in 2014 with The Broken Circle Breakdown? Whatever the outcome, it would be a fine way to bring activities to an end at the company, as its producer and founder, Dirk Impens, announced a year ago that he would be closing its doors once the projects currently in progress had wrapped.

(Translated from French)