Still: Coward - Lukas Dhont

Prolific Dutch-born cinematographer Frank van den Eeden has been working frantically in recent weeks to complete the colour grading for Coward**, his latest collaboration with the brilliant Flemish filmmaker Lukas Dhont, in time for its premiere in the Cannes competition.

Coward is set during the First World War, behind the trenches, as young Belgian soldiers try to keep up their morale. 

Speaking to SEE NL on a late May evening, van den Eeden can’t hide his admiration for director Dhont. “We started out on Girl. That was his debut. He knew my work and he reached out,” the cinematographer remembers how the collaboration began on the Belgian’s Camera D’Or winning debut in 2018. “We met a few times. I loved his energy and the way he was preparing his film.”  

He also shot the Belgian wunderkind’s second feature, Close, in 2022. “It is super nice to work with him on set,” he says of the near telepathic rapport they now have.

Coward may be a period piece set during the First World War but van den Eeden insists that it still has Dhont’s usual hallmarks. That’s to say, it is “delicate and intimate.”

“It is a bigger scope, I agree. There is more going on, it’s bigger and there are more people…but, on the other hand, it still has that emotional perspective. It still has the same goal. It is all rooted in intimacy and realism.”

The cinematographer argues that although the setting is 1916, Coward is actually “a very modern story,” touching on friendship, love and loyalty.

“In terms of visuals, it aligns again with Close,” the DOP says. “It’s a story that is real, that breathes and is all about emotions.”

Dhont is renowned for his work with actors. Whether they’re kids who’ve never appeared on camera before or seasoned professionals, the Belgian director has the knack of coaxing out performances of great depth and subtlety.

“His understanding of human emotions is truly amazing. When we were shooting Girl, I was like, wow, about how he understands the deep emotional conflicts of people and translates them into visual [form] without losing the idea where the strength of the scene is.”

Van den Eeden becomes involved long before shooting begins. He’ll be there when the script is read for the first time. There are then rehearsals and test shootings, “icebreakers for these non-professional actors to give them a sense of what is going to hit them in a few weeks.” When working with Dhont, van den Eeden is “never too technical.” The emphasis is on the human side of the storytelling.

As a cinematographer, van den Eeden has worked with prominent Dutch as well as Belgian directors. He has done films with, among many others, Nanouk Leopold, David Verbeek and Sacha Polak.

“Let me explain, I am born in the southern part of the Netherlands, close to the Belgian border. At the time I applied to film school in Amsterdam and got refused two times, so I thought why not go to Brussels,” he remembers what has led him to work so often with Belgian auteurs. “But being born so close to the border, I didn’t care so much about it [his nationality].”

Cinema he believes, “does not know borders. We watch films from all over the world and if they resonate with us, that is beautiful. I am not so much into these territorial [demarcations]. Whatever director reaches out to me, if they have a nice story to tell and they are a nice person, I am in, wherever the money comes from. That doesn’t matter to me at all.”

Coward is produced by Michiel Dhont, the director’s sibling. How does van den Eeden see their collaboration? “They are bothers, they are friends and they are colleagues - and it shows…it actually works very well,” the cinematographer says. 

If Lukas isn’t able to help van den Eeden with the grading, Michiel will turn up instead.

“It’s not that he [Michiel] is only into financing and producing. They overlap and support each other on all the levels of filmmaking. I have this extra pair of eyes next to me when it is necessary, and that is great!”

Coward is directed by Lukas Dhont and produced by The Reunion (BE) in co-production with Versu (opus) (BE), Lumen (FR) and Topkapi Films (NL). Sales: The Match Factory.

Find out more about Cannes here.

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*Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund
**Film is supported by the Netherlands Film Fund and Production Incentive