Lukas Dhont (; born 11 June 1991) is a Belgian film director and screenwriter. His debut feature film, ''

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...

'', premiered at the

2018 Cannes Film Festival The 71st annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 8 to 19 May 2018. Australian actress Cate Blanchett served as jury president for the main competition. Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda won the ''Palme d'Or'', the festival's top prize, fo ...

, where it won the

Caméra d'Or The Caméra d'Or ("''Golden Camera''") is an award of the Cannes Film Festival for the best first feature film presented in one of the Cannes selections (Official Selection, Directors' Fortnight or Critics' Week). The prize was created in 1978 Ca ...

and the Queer Palm awards. He was featured in

Forbes 30 Under 30 ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 is a set of lists published annually by ''Forbes'' magazine since 2011 consisting of 30 notable people under 30 years old in various industries. The American list consists of 600 people, with 30 selected in each of 20 sect ...

Europe list in 2019. His second feature film, '' Close'', premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where he shared the Grand Prix with

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; ; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film '' Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s and of all time. Her work has dealt with themes of colonial and p ...

' '' Stars At Noon''. In 2023, ''Close'' was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

representing Belgium.

Early life

Dhont was born in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, Belgium. He attended a

Catholic high school Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

. As a teenager, Dhont worked as a

costume design Costume design is the process of selecting or creating clothing for a performers. A costume may be designed from scratch or may be designed by combining existing garments. "Costume" may also refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a ...

assistant on film and television sets. His mother is a fashion teacher at an art school. He has a younger brother, Michiel, who is two years younger and works as a producer. Dhont and Michiel both identify as gay.

Career

He made his feature-length debut in 2018 with ''

'', a drama film inspired by the story of Nora Monsecour which focuses on a trans girl pursuing a career as a

ballerina A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancer ...

. ''Girl'' premiered at the

, where it won the

award for Best First Feature Film, as well as the Queer Palm. It received the André Cavens Award for Best Film given by the

Belgian Film Critics Association The Belgian Film Critics Association (, UCC) is an organization of film critics from publications based in Brussels, Belgium. History The Belgian Film Critics Association was founded in the early 1950s in Brussels. Its membership includes film r ...

and was selected as the Belgian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

91st Academy Awards The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2018 in film, films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During th ...

. It received nine nominations at the 9th Magritte Awards and won four, including Best Flemish Film and Best Screenplay for Dhont. In 2019, Dhont was featured in ''

'' Europe list. Dhont's second feature, '' Close'', starring

Émilie Dequenne Émilie Dequenne (; 29 August 1981 – 16 March 2025) was a Belgian actress. She first gained recognition for her role in the Dardenne brothers' film '' Rosetta'' (1999), which earned her the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress. The fi ...

and Léa Drucker, premiered in competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where he shared the Grand Prix with

' '' Stars At Noon''. It also won the Sydney Film Prize at the 69th Sydney Film Festival in June 2022. The film is based on his own experiences at school, and tells the story of a friendship between two boys in their early teens. In 2023, the film was nominated for the

at the

95th Academy Awards The 95th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the gala, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonl ...

. In June 2023, Dhont was invited to become a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

. In 2024, Dhont presided over the Queer Palm jury for the

2024 Cannes Film Festival The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2024. American filmmaker and actress Greta Gerwig served as jury president for the main competition. American filmmaker Sean Baker (filmmaker), Sean Baker won the Palme d'Or, the ...

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Lukas Dhont
at

Unifrance Unifrance is an organization for promoting French films in France and abroad. It is managed by the Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée. It has several hundred members who include filmmakers, directors, screenwriters and agents. Fou ...

Lukas Dhont
at

Cineuropa Cineuropa is an online information portal dedicated to the promotion of European cinema. It publishes daily news, reviews, interviews, and industry reports and maintains a database of information. It is available in four languages: English, Fre ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dhont, Lukas 1991 births Living people Belgian film directors Belgian male screenwriters People from Ghent Belgian LGBTQ screenwriters Gay screenwriters Belgian LGBTQ film directors Magritte Award winners Directors of Caméra d'Or winners 21st-century Belgian screenwriters