The Belgian director and screenwriter takes us behind the scenes of “Qeer Palm”, for which he was the president of the jury at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year.
In 2018, he stood out with his first feature film. girl, for which he won the “Golden Camera” and “Queer Palm” awards. In 2022, Lucas Dont returns close, a magnificent story of tragic friendship that takes place after childhood. A film that was praised by the festival, which subsequently awarded it the Grand Prix. His look at the difficulties and emotions that his characters go through in adolescence becomes a trademark that does not leave anyone indifferent. And makes him the perfect candidate to be president of the Queer Palm 2024 jury, which he agreed to discuss with us on the beach at the Quinzaine des filmmakers in Cannes. The day before the Feature Film Awards Three kilometers to the end of the world by Emmanuel Parvu and a short film Brides of the South By Elena Lopez Riera. The suspense was still intact, and his desire to tell the cinematic story that had moved him was still just as gratifying. Meeting with Lucas Dont.
Madame Figaro. – You are the jury president of Queer Palm, what does that mean to you?
Lucas Dont: That I have to prepare all my arguments to convince my teammates to support the film that I want to see win. More seriously, it’s the festival’s “open-mindedness” award that goes to a film that tries to break codes. Both formal and fundamental. It’s a desire to shake up the norms and expectations surrounding gender experience. To me, many feminist comments can also be “surprising”. For some, the theme of the “chosen family”.
Who do you work with to deliver these awards?
Palestinian journalist and director Jud Salfiti, who writes extensively The Guardian:, Arte… He is very cinephile, very political and his view is very precise. Sophie Letourneur, French screenwriter, director Trip to Italy In 2023, Juliana Rojas, a Brazilian director who creates very inspired queer genre cinema. And finally Hugo Bardin, director and winner of the first season of Drag Race France, known as Paloma. Franck Finance-Madureira, the creator of the Queer Palm, chose us, as he has done since the invention of this award in 2010. He has a vision that I really like.
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As a director, what do you like about this experience?
We already get along well. We have very different opinions, and that’s what makes the experience of being on the jury so powerful. Listening to people discuss the film, getting their point of view, that’s why I do it. It nourishes me as a person, a director and a writer, it is a source of inspiration for me. Sometimes we disagree, but we try to set times when we can talk about movies very openly. We watched 17 films this year, but the generosity and curiosity of each other’s opinions saved us.
A whole era and its developments are revealed through selection. What have you noticed this year?
I was surprised, moved, shocked, disgusted, and this is what is beautiful. There are movies that are journeys that break. Queer cinema is immersive, it’s unusual, it’s unpredictable and it takes us somewhere else. Sometimes it doesn’t work, but we experiment. The choice is very diverse, for example we have Jacques Audiard Emilia Perezand the first films of young directors. Drama Queens, full of life, but also more classic films in terms of production and direction. There are still emerging trends, this year it revolves around a slightly edgier homosexuality. It is interesting to see how directors strive to innovate and adapt to our society. I welcome this change.
There are emerging trends, this year it revolves around a slightly edgier homosexuality.
Lucas Dont
You are 32 years old, your career was marked by success at the Cannes Film Festival, how do you live it?
I have been making films since I was 10 years old with my brother Michel Dont, who is also a producer. close. My mother’s friend gave us a DV camera. I wrote scripts, my parents acted, my brother played the dog (is laughing). We digitized the videos, that’s something. I have always had this desire to do what I love most in the world. And I get this magnificent gift, which is the reaction of the audience.
What are your plans for the future?
We are in the process of writing a third film, which we would like to shoot in the summer of 2025. We’re continuing to develop our cinematic vocabulary and at the same time it’s disruptive compared to what we normally do. The characters are a bit older and the action of this movie takes place in the past. I don’t need to say more than Michael (Dhont, editor’s note) will deprive me of lunch!
Source: Le Figaro
