The first Afrikaans film in Un Certain Regard

Developed during the 19th session of the Résidence de la Cinéfondation, Skoonheid is the second feature film by Oliver Hermanus, a filmmaker born in Cape Town, South Africa. The fifth South African feature film presented at Cannes and the first in Afrikaans, it is a sign of the emergence of a new cinematography in the Cannes selection.

While François is convinced that he has wasted his life, a chance encounter completely turns his neat and tidy existence on its head. Christian is a good-looking young man of 23 years of age, the son of an old friend. François is secretly troubled, consumed by a devouring passion. By accepting these new feelings, he starts out towards something quite novel… happiness.

At only 27 years of age, Oliver Hermanus is the youngest director in Un Certain Regard. Having studied cinema in Europe, he returns to his country of origin and describes characters torn between the contradictions of their desire to live, and the weight of a miserable daily existence. The director was identified by international critics in 2005 with the feature film Shirley Adams, the story of a woman bringing up her handicapped child alone in poverty. “We are born into a society in revolt, and we need our own cinema to echo our battle for rights and freedom,” the director states.

N. S.

The film is screened in the Salle Debussy at 11am.