SOON!-competition 2024

Tribute to the upcoming stars! In the SOON!-competition, a professional youth jury - the Young Talents - chaired by a Belgian film professional, awards new filmmakers whose first or second film has made it to prestigious international festivals.

Winner

Movie

Drama

Toll

After much deliberation, "Toll" by Carolina Markowicz has become the final winner of the SOON!-competition. The film tells the story of Suellen, a Brazilian toll booth attendant and devoted mother to her teenage son Antonio, who ends up helping a gang of thieves. With the extra money she earns, she wants to send her son to an expensive workshop that would redeem him from his homosexual orientation. Caught between maternal love and societal pressures, Suellen navigates the complexities of parenthood.

'Toll' is a film that does not judge and portrays its characters in a smart and nuanced way. With a mix between social realism and satire, Markowicz has created a film that makes us love each character. At many moments, the film breaks the classically familiar gender roles between mother and son, but equally between girlfriends and lovers. Queerness is not problematized by the main character Antonio within himself. He is proud; the world around him is the problem. As a result, the film is hopeful without denying the difficulties of strict societal norms - and of living together at all.

SOON!-jury

Jury

Jury president Charlotte De Bruyne is an actress and known for her roles in both theatre and film. Among others, she played in the films 'Behind the Clouds' and 'Don't Shoot' and in the series 'The Twelve'. Recently, De Bruyne played the role of Eva in Veerle Baetens' 'It Melts' and can be seen in the new crime series 'Juliet', which premiered during the film festival.

Professionally, Maïmouna Badjie is shaving high points. Among others, she can be seen in the series ‘Assisen: De balletmoord’, ‘Liefdestips aan Mezelf’, ‘Season of Sex’ and ‘2DEZIT’.

Nathan Bouts became known to the general public in 2018 with his role in the online series 'wtFOCK'. Furthermore, he played a role in the series ‘2DEZIT’., along with fellow judge Maïmouna Badjie. Since 2020, Bouts has been working on developing a music career.

Thibaud Dooms is European Shooting Star at the Berlinale and shines in the films ‘Zeevonk’ by Domien Huyghe and ‘Skunk’ by Koen Mortier. The latter makes its Belgian premiere at the film festival.

You may know the Dutch Hanna van Vliet from the queer web series and film 'ANNE+' she co-created and starred in. For this, she was nominated for a Golden Calf for Best Actress in 2020 and 2022. Recently, she was also seen in 'The Dream of Youth'. The series premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023.