Did you know that the ending of a boyhood friendship hurts just as much as when losing your first love? That pain is portrayed in this beautiful film where the seemingly unbreakable bond between Léo and Rémi, two thirteen-year-old best friends, suddenly comes under great strain. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, the film is an emotionally transformative and unforgettable portrait of the intersection of friendship and love, identity and independence, and heartbreak and healing.
Language: French/Dutch, subtitles: English
13-year-olds Rémi and Léo have been inseparable for as long as they can remember. Their friendship is joyful and intense, they hang out and play together all the time. When the new school year starts, schoolmates become aware of the intensity of their connection and ask them if they are a couple. That knocks Léo off his feet, and he creates more and more distance between him and his best friend.
The film depicts the destructive rules of the schoolyard and follows the heartbreaking process of estrangement between friends.
This tender, poignant film on friendship, peer pressure, responsibility and a desire to belong won director Lukas Dhont the prestigious Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.
Reviews
“Close is a great film about friendship, but perhaps an even greater one about being alone.”
The Telegraph.
“It’s a quiet tragedy that’s rendered close to uplifting by its gentle grace and compassion.” TimeOut.
“There’s no doubting the force of this drenchingly sad story”. The Guardian.
“Director Lukas Dhont and scriptwriter Angelo Tijssens move and conquer their viewers again with this heartbreaking tale of a boyhood friendship, that cuts as deep as their memorable debut Girl.” De Tijd
Ticket information
This film will be shown at Filmhuis De Zwarte Doos. Buying a ticket online in advance is mandatory if you want to attend this film. You can buy a ticket via the black “order” button on this page.
Please note: you can only buy a ticket online; tickets are not purchasable with cash or bank card at the ticket counter. A ticket is not refundable or exchangeable.
You can find more general information about tickets, refund policy, etc. here.
Please be on time
The screening of the film starts at 19:30 sharp (no commercials). We kindly ask you to be at the ticket counter when it opens 15 minutes prior to the start of the film. This is to ensure the film starts and ends on time.
The Studium Generale film program is created in collaboration with the student film committee and Natlab.