Interviews

Interview: Lukas Dhont – Girl | 2018 Cannes Film Festival

Published on June 25, 2018

In the same year that the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner A Fantastic Woman visited themes of identity and transition, Lukas Dhont‘s directorial debut Girl explores the same, but from the vantage point of a teenage girl born in a boy’s body. A deeply empathetic debut feature with a down-to-earth sense of observational naturalism, with almost no prejudice regarding the dreams of this central figure, Dhont delivers an intuitively accessible, honest look at the internal struggle of a teenager who never once questions her femininity and who has the strongest support from her family to move towards true emancipation.

Presented in Un Certain Regard section and winner of coveted Caméra d’Or award for best first feature film (see our quick clip) at the Cannes Film Festival, I had the chance to sit with Dhont to ask about the source of inspiration, his reflection on Lara’s character, and the work method he employees with his actor set.

Related Topics:2018 Cannes Film Festival, Foreign Films Interview, Girl, Lukas Dhont, top-stories, World Cinema

Amir Ganjavie

Amir Ganjavie, a Ph.D. in communication and culture, is a Toronto-based writer, cultural citric, festival director, community activist and filmmaker. Fascinated by the issue of alternative and utopian space in modern urban settings and cinema, Amir has published several articles on utopia and two books, one on utopia (Le rÃ´le de la pensÃ©e utopique dans lâamÃ©nagement des villes de demain) and the other on walkable neighbourhoods (Pour une ville qui marche). He has recently co-edited two special volumes on Iranian cinema for film International and Asian Cinema and edited a Humanities of the Other: An essay collection on the Dardanne Brothers (in Persian). Aside from academia, he writes for MovieMaker, Filmint, Mubi, Senses of Cinema, Offscreen and Brightlight. Amir is very active in the community. He serves as the CEO of CineIran Festival and Phoenix Cultural Centre of Toronto. He is also the founding member of NaMaNa Cinema. He has recently directed/produced a long feature film in Canada, named Pendulum. His top 2 theatrical release for 2017: IldikÃ³ Enyedi's On Body and Soul and Michel Hazanavicius's Redoubtable.