Coward
On the Belgian front during World War I, Pierre tries to hold his own among the other men. Behind the lines, he meets the charismatic Francis, who, together with a group of soldiers deemed unfit for duty, puts on improvised theater performances to keep troop morale high.
Amid muddy trenches, where vulnerability seems to have no place, Francis opens up an unexpected space of imagination, freedom, and tenderness for Pierre. Behind the scenes, the men find their way to each other more and more often, and their shared moments take on ever greater meaning. Something emerges that the war seems unable to destroy: moments of freedom and an unexpected love.
Coward is a moving and powerful war and love drama about courage and fear, masculinity, and the power of art, desire, and connection. The film by acclaimed director Lukas Dhont (Girl, Close) had its world premiere in the main competition at Cannes, where lead actors Emmanuel Macchia (Pierre) and Valentin Campagne (Francis) jointly received the award for Best Actor. For Macchia, it was his feature film debut; Dhont cast him at a school for landscape architecture.
Coward is the official Belgian entry for the 2027 Oscars. Lukas Dhont drew inspiration from historical World War I photographs of young soldiers putting on a show for one another just behind the front lines, often dressed in women’s clothing.
