Belgian Wave Hits Cannes Film Festival

The 79th Cannes Film Festival has been swept by an unprecedented wave of Belgian talent, with two Belgian films vying for the prestigious Palme d’Or and director Laura Wandel serving on the main competition jury — the first Belgian juror in 22 years. The strong presence across multiple festival sections underscores the growing international recognition of Belgium’s cinema industry, bolstered by a robust public funding system that supports filmmakers from both the Flemish and French-speaking communities.

A Historic Belgian Presence

Running from 12 to 23 May, this year’s edition features an exceptional concentration of Belgian cinema. Two films — Lukas Dhont’s “Coward” and Emmanuel Marre’s “Notre Salut” — are competing for the Palme d’Or, while Belgian director Laura Wandel sits on the jury alongside Hollywood star Demi Moore, Chinese director Chloé Zhao, and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, presided over by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, as RTBF reported.

According to The Brussels Times, the Belgian entries are competing against works by heavyweight directors including Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Cristian Mungiu.

Two Films, Two Wars

Lukas Dhont returns to Cannes with “Coward,” his third feature film at the festival and his most ambitious to date. The First World War drama follows Pierre, a young Belgian soldier seeking to prove himself on the front lines, where he meets Francis, a man tasked with boosting troop morale. The film draws visual inspiration from historical autochrome colour photographs from the era and features relatively unknown young actors Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne in lead roles.

“Coward is the work of many and my most ambitious film to date,” Dhont said, as quoted by the Belga News Agency. “A film about love and death, construction and destruction. A film about survival and how, sometimes, even in the darkness, something beautiful manages to grow.”

Dhont’s previous Cannes outings — “Girl” (Caméra d’Or, 2018) and “Close” (Grand Prix, 2022) — established him as one of Belgium’s most celebrated directors. He is the first Flemish director to have three feature films in official competition at Cannes. The film will have its world premiere on 21 May and is scheduled for general release in Belgian cinemas this autumn.

Emmanuel Marre’s “Notre Salut” (Our Salvation), produced by Michigan Films and supported by the Centre du Cinéma de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, explores a deeply personal story set in Vichy France, September 1940. The film draws on the director’s own family history, following his great-grandfather Henri Marre, a 49-year-old man who arrives in Vichy carrying copies of his self-published manifesto. It screens on 20 May and marks Marre’s second feature following “Rien à foutre,” co-directed with Julie Lecoustre and presented at Critics’ Week in 2021.

Laura Wandel: A Rare Honour

Laura Wandel’s inclusion in the main competition jury is historically significant. As Paris Match Belgique reported, she is the first Belgian juror since Benoît Poelvoorde in 2004, and only the fourth Belgian in the festival’s history — following Georges Simenon (jury president, 1960) and André Delvaux (1980).

“It’s all positive actually,” Wandel told RTBF. “I’m here as a filmmaker too and we’re going to talk about cinema and that’s the most beautiful thing that could happen to me personally.” Wandel has a long history with Cannes, having presented her short film “Les Corps étrangers” in 2014, her acclaimed debut “Un Monde” in Un Certain Regard (2021, winning the FIPRESCI prize), and opening Critics’ Week with “L’Intérêt d’Adam” in 2025.

Belgian Cinema Across the Festival

Beyond the main competition, Belgian productions and co-productions feature across nearly every festival section. In Un Certain Regard, three Belgian productions will be presented: “Ton Animal Maternel” by Valentina Maurel, “Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep” by Rakan Mayasi, and the animated film “Le Corset” by Louis Clichy. The Midnight Screenings section includes Marion Le Corroller’s fantasy film “Sanguine,” co-produced by Panache Productions and La Compagnie Cinématographique.

In Cannes Classics, Brecht Debackere’s “Nostalgia for the Future,” narrated by Charlotte Rampling, explores the legacy of French filmmaker Chris Marker, while a restored copy of “Les Mouettes Meurent au Port” (1955) pays tribute to Belgium’s first-ever Cannes competition entry from 1956. The festival opened with “La Vénus électrique” by Pierre Salvadori, a Franco-Belgian co-production.

The Funding Factor

Belgium’s outsized presence at Cannes is no accident. As Lukas Dhont noted in an interview with RTBF, his film received support from both Flemish and Walloon institutions — the VAF (Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds), the Centre du Cinéma de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, and the RTBF co-production department, alongside federal tax shelter incentives. This bipartisan funding ecosystem allows Belgian cinema to punch well above its weight on the world stage.

What to Watch For

The Palme d’Or will be awarded at the closing ceremony on 23 May. Whether or not a Belgian film takes home the top prize, this year’s festival has already cemented Belgium’s reputation as a cinematic force to be reckoned with — a remarkable achievement for a small nation with two distinct film cultures working in concert.