Cannes Cheers Dhont's Queer WWI Romance With 13-Minute Ovation

Lukas Dhont’s World War I drama Coward debuted at the Cannes Film Festival with a 13-minute ovation. The Belgian director’s second Cannes competition entry follows a front-line soldier named Pierre who, with Francis, stages a morale-boosting theatre show to escape war’s brutality. Inspired by a black-and-white photo of a cross‑dressed young man, the film explores bravery and self-expression. Mubi has acquired several territories ahead of the release, and Deadline’s Pete Hammond lauds it as a universal love story.