Film Fest Gent will open its 45th edition on Tuesday 9 October with the Belgian feature debut and multiple Cannes award winner ‘Girl’ by Lukas Dhont, in the presence of the entire cast and crew.
The festival looks forward to welcoming Lukas back with his first full-length feature. In 2014 Dhont won the Best Belgian Student Short Film at Film Fest Gent with his master thesis ‘L’Infini’. He also was part of the youth jury of the Explore Zone competition in 2011 and received a Special Mention for his short film ‘Corps Perdu’ in 2012.
Artistic director of the festival Patrick Duynslaegher about the opening film: “Through this splendid feature film debut, Lukas Dhont portrays the dreams and desires of a girl trapped in a boy’s body, with an unbelievable tact, tenderness and empathy. The revelation of a super talented director combined with the last film by producer Dirk Impens makes ‘Girl’ a very special opening film.”
‘Girl’ is inspired by a true story about Lara, a 15-year-old girl who wants nothing more than to become a ballerina. To realize that dream, a lot of discipline is needed, but the challenge is made even greater because Lara is born in the body of a boy. The film follows Lara in the daily fight against her own body.
‘Girl’ was written by Lukas Dhont and Angelo Tijssens and directed by Lukas Dhont. Frank van den Eeden signed on as D.O.P, while Alain Dessauvage was the editor. The original music score is from Valentin Hadjadj. The film was produced by Dirk Impens for Menuet, in co-production with Frakas Productions and Topkapi Films. ‘Girl’ was made with the support of the VAF / Film Fund of Flemish Minister of Culture Sven Gatz. The film will be distributed in Belgium on 17 October by Lumière.