Lukas Dhont’s ‘Coward’ passes 100,000 Benelux cinema admissions

The Belgian-Dutch war film *Coward* has drawn more than 100,000 cinema-goers in the Benelux in its first three weeks, its distributor Film Incompany said on Friday. The film opened in the Netherlands and Belgium on 22 October.

Directed by Lukas Dhont, *Coward* tells the story of a romance between two boys during the First World War. Its lead actors, Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, were named best actors at the Cannes Film Festival’s closing ceremony.

The film is also on the shortlist for the European Film Awards, with nominations due to be announced on Saturday. It is Belgium’s entry for the Oscars, which will be presented in March. It is the third time Dhont has represented Belgium at the Academy Awards; his previous film, *Close*, was also nominated.

The production was co-produced by Dutch company Topkapi Films and included Dutch cinematographer Frank van den Eeden and make-up artist Evalotte Oosterop.