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Lukas Dhont

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Lukas Dhont
Dhont in 2026
Born (1991-06-11) 11 June 1991 (age 34)[1]
Ghent, Belgium[1]
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
Years active2012–present
AwardsFull list

Lukas Dhont (Dutch: [ˈlukɑz ˈdɔnt];[2] born 11 June 1991)[1] is a Belgian filmmaker. His films usually explore queer experiences in Belgian society. His debut feature film Girl (2018) won the Caméra d'Or and the Queer Palm at 71st Cannes Film Festival.

His second feature film Close (2022) won the Grand Prix at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film representing Belgium.

Early life

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Dhont was born in Ghent, Belgium.[3] He attended a Catholic high school.[4] As a teenager, Dhont worked as a costume design assistant on film and television sets.[5]

His mother is a fashion teacher at an art school.[5] He has a younger brother, Michiel,[6] who is two years younger and works as a producer.[7][8] Lukas and Michiel both identify as gay.[4][7]

Career

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Dhont made his feature-length debut in 2018 with Girl, a coming-of-age drama film centered on a trans girl pursuing a career as a ballerina. Girl was inspired by the story of Nora Monsecour, whom Dhont met when he was 18.[9][10] The film premiered at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Caméra d'Or award for best first feature film, as well as the Queer Palm.[11] It was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Non-English Language Film.[12] It received the André Cavens Award presented by the Belgian Film Critics Association and was selected as the Belgian entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards.[13][14] It received nine nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards and won four, including Best Flemish Film and Best Screenplay for Dhont.[15]

In 2019, Dhont was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.[16]

Dhont's follow-up feature, Close, premiered in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it shared the Grand Prix with Claire Denis' Stars At Noon.[17] It also won the Sydney Film Prize at the 69th Sydney Film Festival.[18] The film is based on his own experiences at school, and tells the story of a friendship between two boys in their early teens.[19] It was named Best International Film of 2022 by the National Board of Review.[20] In 2023, the film was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards.[21]

Dhont in 2023

In June 2023, Dhont was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[22] In 2024, Dhont presided over the Queer Palm jury for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.[23] In 2025, Dhont co-produced, with Michiel, the Belgian-Dutch drama film Julian, which premiered in the Discovery programme at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.[24][25] Dhont's third feature film, Coward, is a World War I–set drama about a young Belgian soldier who discovers love and art while questioning traditional notions of heroism and cowardice. The screenplay was developed over approximately three years with co-writer Angelo Tijssens, drawing on historical research conducted in archives in London, Belgium, and France.[25] In April 2026, it had its world premiere in the main competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it will compete for the Palme d'Or.[26]

Filmography

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Feature films

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Year Title Credited as Notes
Director Screenwriter Producer
2018 Girl Yes Yes No Caméra d'Or winner at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival
2022 Close Yes Yes No Grand Prix winner at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival
National Board of Review Award for Best International Film
2025 Julian No No Yes
2026 Coward Yes Yes No

Short films

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Year Title Credited as Ref.
Director Screenwriter Cinematographer Producer
2012 Headlong Yes Yes No No
De Lucht in mijn Keel No Yes No No
Skin of Glass Yes No Yes No
2014 L'Infini Yes Yes No No
2021 Our Nature Yes Yes No No
2023 Gun No No No Yes [27]

Awards and nominations

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Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Lukas Dhont

References

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  1. ^ a b c Beekman, Bor (3 November 2022). "Filmen is niet alleen maar leuk voor regisseur Lukas Dhont, dansen op Britney Spears is dat wel". De Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  2. ^ "De filmkeuze van Lukas Dhont is Girlhood". YouTube. Vrije Universiteit Brussel. 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Lukas DHONT - Festival de Cannes". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b Lukas Dhont and Victor Polster (April 2018). "Girl Victor Polster x Lukas Dhont". Issue Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023. I had just finished at a very Catholic high school and was going to start film school...During my Catholic high school time, I had been trying to deny a part of myself, more specifically my sexuality, to fit into the group.
  5. ^ a b Bradshaw, Lisa (9 October 2022). "Telling tales about troubled teenagers". The Brussels Times. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Lukas Dhont back in Cannes: "It was to be able to move my mother that I became a filmmaker"". West Observer. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b Raymond Ang (8 March 2023). "With His Oscar Nominee Close, Lukas Dhont Makes Art Out Of Coming of Age". GQ. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023. Dhont made Close with his brother Michiel as one of the producers. "I am gay [too]," Michiel, who's two years younger than Lukas, tells me.
  8. ^ Kemp, Stuart. "Lukas Dhont on making his second feature 'Close' with producer brother Michiel Dhont". ScreenDaily. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  9. ^ Halls, Eleanor (18 March 2019). "Trans ballet dancer Nora Monsecour on Girl: 'There was always a fascination with what was between my legs'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  10. ^ Clarke, Cath (12 March 2019). "'I have the right to tell this story': Lukas Dhont defends his trans film Girl". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  11. ^ Debruge, Peter (19 May 2018). "Japanese Director Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Shoplifters' Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes". Variety. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  12. ^ Arnaud, Henry (25 May 2024). "Lukas Dhont: 2 Golden Globe Nominations 'Is Nothing but Happiness'". Golden Globes. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  13. ^ "L'UCC décerne le prix Cavens à GIRL de Lukas Dhont et a annoncé les 5 finalistes pour le Grand Prix 2019". Cinopsis (in French). 21 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  14. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (27 August 2018). "Oscars: Belgium Selects 'Girl', Cannes' Camera D'Or, As Foreign Language Entry". Deadline. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
  15. ^ Richford, Rhonda (2 February 2019). "Belgium's Magritte Awards: 'Our Struggles' Takes Top Prize". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  16. ^ "30 Under 30 Europe 2019: Entertainment". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  17. ^ "The 75th Festival de Cannes winners list". Festival de Cannes. 28 May 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  18. ^ Jefferson, Dee (19 June 2022). "Belgian film Close, about teen male friendship, wins Sydney Film Festival's top prize". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  19. ^ Rogers, Thomas (27 January 2023). "Once a Bullied Teen, Now the Movies' Master Storyteller of Youth". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  20. ^ De Wolf, Ludwig (9 December 2022). ""Close" van Lukas Dhont bekroond bij eerste filmprijzen van het seizoen in VS". VRT NWS (in Dutch). Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  21. ^ "95th OSCARS® NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  22. ^ "THE ACADEMY INVITES 398 TO MEMBERSHIP". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  23. ^ Lanney, Tessa (1 March 2024). "Festival de Cannes 2024 : Xavier Dolan et Lukas Dhont président chacun un jury". Têtu (in French). Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Julian". TIFF. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  25. ^ a b Macnab, Geoffrey (6 September 2025). "Dhont brothers talk production outfit The Reunion, its first feature 'Julian', and Lukas' upcoming 'Coward'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  26. ^ "The films of the Official Selection 2026". Festival de Cannes. 9 April 2026. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  27. ^ "Gun / Belgique / 2023 / 17' / Flamand". Cabourg Film Festival (in French). Retrieved 29 June 2023.
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