Plaqué or
2019 · 25m · Belgium
Directed by Chloé Léonil
Genres: coming-of-age, drama
Tones: contemplative, dark, melancholic
Sixteen-year-old Inès, determined to find a job, meets Martin, a wealthy boy from Brussels' affluent neighborhoods, and is caught between shame, fascination, and her own moral compass as the class gulf between them becomes impossible to ignore.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A graduation film that won multiple festival prizes and got its director a Cannes co-writing credit — whatever Léonil is doing with class and moral ambiguity here clearly works as proof of something much bigger.
Chloé Léonil's INSAS graduation film, Dardennes-adjacent class observation through Salomé Dewaels — the 25-minute student work that earned her a Cannes co-writing credit. Structural ambition, not decorative.
An INSAS graduation film whose director went on to a Cannes co-writing credit — that's a backloaded validation, but the class-shame Brussels premise is well-trod territory. The structural ambition the description claims is hard to verify from the page.
Reviews
It's difficult to excuse the actions of her main character, but Léonil makes sure we never judge her
Festivals
- Palm Springs International ShortFest 2020, Special Mention
- Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers 2020, Student Prize