Feature narrative

Young Hearts

Belgia · Nederland – 2024

Synopsis

14-year-old Elias lives a pretty carefree life in the Belgian countryside. He has good friends, a girl friend he likes to hang with, and to top it off, his parents are fun.
When a new family moves in next door, Elias' encounter with cool city boy Alexander, also 14, will soon develop into something that goes beyond friendship. Confused by these new feelings, Elias tries to make sense of it all - and prove that he is worth Alex' heart in return.

Writer/director Anthony Schatteman's debut feature is co-written by Lukas Dhont, and it's hard not to draw comparisons to the latter's Oscar-nominated Close (Oslo/Fusion 2022) - but Young Hearts is anything but tragic. It's a film full of heart and sincere joy, an exploration of a first love experience that hopefully many queer kids will enjoy themselves for generations to come.

    Details

  • Director

    Anthony Schatteman

  • Cast

    Lou Gossens
    Marius De Saeger
    Geert Van Rampelberg
    Emilie De Roo
    Dirk van Dijck

  • Duration

    97 min.

  • Language

    Dutch, French

  • Subtitles

    Norwegian

Screenings