Clenched Fist

Local title
Käsi rusikas
Original title
Les Poings Serrés
Director
Vivian Goffette
Country
Year
2023

Lucien – 11 – lives with his mother Cécile and his older brother in a village in the Ardennes. He is a secretive boy who avoids contact as much as questions. When his grandmother dies, a prison release is granted to his father to attend the funeral. Seeing his father grieve, handcuffed and protected from the popular fury by an impressive police deployment hurts Lucien. Against the advice of his family, Lucien decides to see his father again. At the risk of losing everything...

Age recommendation: 14+

Director
Vivian Goffette
Screenwriter
Vivian Goffette
Producer
Stéphane Lhoest
Co-producer
Jan Declercq
Cast
Yanis Frisch, Lucie Debay, Wim Willaert, Mila De Mol, Laurent Capelluto, Paulo Schmit
Cinematographer
Jan Van Caillie
Editing
Sandrine Deegen, Denis Leborgne
Music
Tuur Florizoone
Sound
Philippe Vandendriesche, Mathieu Cox
Runtime
Language
Subtitles
Director
Vivian Goffette

Vivian Goffette worked as an assistant director on various movies and television films after his graduation film "Bruder Martin" (1993). Then he directed "The Postcard" in 1998 which won numerous awards at festivals and was nominated for the Oscars in 1999. It was followed by "The Center of the World" (short fiction, 2000) and "This is not Gaume" (2007), short documentary about his native region. His first feature film "Yam Dam" (2013), produced under “low budget” conditions, was selected by about twenty film festivals. Among other awards, "Yam Dam" won the Best Belgian Film Award at FIFF Namur. "Clenched Fist" is his second feature film.

Filmography:
Bruder Martin (1993), The Postcard (1998), The Center of the World (2000), This is not Gaume (2007), Yam Dam (2013), Les Poings Serrés (Clenched Fist, 2023)

Trailer
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