Coward is a 2026 war-drama film directed by Lukas Dhont, co-written with Angelo Tijssens. A co-production of Belgium, France, and the Netherlands, it stars Emmanuel Macchia (in his acting debut) and Valentin Campagne as Pierre and Francis, and follows a gay love story in the Belgian trench warfare front of World War I.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 21 May, where it won Prix du Cinéma Positif and Macchia and Campagne jointly won the Best Actor award. It will be theatrically released in Belgium by Lumiére on 21 October.
It was also selected as the Belgian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
Contents
Premise
In 1916, during the World War I, Pierre serves at the Belgian front alongside other comrades. Behind the trench warfare, the soldiers try to keep their spirits up. One day, Pierre meets flamboyant homosexual Francis. To counter the rhetoric of war and the omnipresent misery, the two decide, with their comrades, to put on a theatrical revue.
Cast
Emmanuel Macchia as Pierre
Valentin Campagne as Francis
Jef Jacobs as Jozef Stevens
Willem De Schryver as Jacobs
Liam Jacqmin as Blanckaert
Mistral Guidotti as Gustaaf Cooreman
Jonas Wertz as Jozef
Boris Bouchat as Thomas
Orlando Vauthier as Rik
Tuur Verelst as Arthur
Mathieu Carpentier as Sergeant Dubois M.
Tijmen Van Damme as Ernst
Emil Krastev as Émile
Anaëlle Fournier as Mathilde
Max Colonne as Robert
Aaron Denolf as Nolf
Jules Smekens
Production
Development
The screenplay for Coward was developed over three years, with Dhont and co-writer Angelo Tijssens conducting historical research in archives including London's Imperial War Museums, along with sources in Belgium and France. The writers learned of male soldiers performing theater pieces on the front lines, cross-dressing, usually playing the roles of wives and mothers, discovering rare lasting romantic connections of closeted queer people.
Coward is co-produced by The Reunion, a Belgian production company founded in 2021 by Dhont and his brother Michiel Dhont, alongside Versus Production, Topkapi Films and producer Juliette Schrameck for Lumen. The project received multiple sources of public funding, including €500,000 from Eurimages and €200,000 from Screen Flanders. It was co-produced by France 2 Cinéma, Ciné+ OCS, VTM, RTBF, Proximus, BeTV and Orange.
Filming
Principal photography was scheduled to begin in September 2025, with filming taking place in Belgium and New York.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2026, marking Dhont's third feature film selected for the festival's official selection following Girl (2018) and Close (2022). It was screened in the Kinoscope section of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival in August 2026. It was also programmed in the 'Perlak' sidebar section of the 74th San Sebastián International Film Festival.
The Match Factory and Cologne will handle the world sales.
In May 2026, Mubi acquired distribution rights to Coward for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Turkey; Mubi previously distributed Dhont's 2022 film Close in several countries. Shortly after the film's Cannes premiere, Mubi also acquired rights to the film for North America.
It is scheduled to be released theatrically in Belgium on 21 October 2026 by Lumière and in France on 18 November 2026 by Diaphana Distribution (under the title Les Braves).
It was also selected as the Belgian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. It marks Dhont's second feature film submitted to represent the country, following Close (2022), which was nominated in the category.
Reception
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Nadia Dalimonte of Next Best Picture described Coward as a sensitively crafted work that examines shifting definitions of bravery and cowardice, ultimately offering a hopeful perspective on vulnerability and artistic expression amid war. Clotilde Chinnici of Loud and Clear concluded that Coward is a well-made film with a bold premise that offers an original perspective on war by focusing on those outside the battlefield who respond to its horror in non-combative ways.