Young Hearts

Synopsis

14-year-old Elias lives a pretty carefree life in the Belgian countryside. He has good friends, a girl friend he likes to hang with, and to top it off, his parents are fun.
When a new family moves in next door, Elias' encounter with cool city boy Alexander, also 14, will soon develop into something that goes beyond friendship. Confused by these new feelings, Elias tries to make sense of it all - and prove that he is worth Alex' heart in return.

Writer/director Anthony Schatteman's debut feature is co-written by Lukas Dhont, and it's hard not to draw comparisons to the latter's Oscar-nominated Close (Oslo/Fusion 2022) - but Young Hearts is anything but tragic. It's a film full of heart and sincere joy, an exploration of a first love experience that hopefully many queer kids will enjoy themselves for generations to come.