Cannes Film Festival 2025: “Young Mothers” by the Dardenne brothers, Ecumenical Jury Prize
Where will the Dardenne brothers stop in their haul of Cannes awards? In the running for a third Palme d'Or (after Rosetta in 1995 and The Child in 2005), the Belgian filmmakers won their first prize from the ecumenical jury on Saturday, May 24, for Young Mothers (after a special prize for Rosetta and a special mention for Two Days, One Night in 2014).
Released in theaters the day before, this choral portrait is built around five teenage girls, young mothers or about to become so, staying in a maternity home near Liège, giving them time to catch their breath and decide what is best for their future.
Despite the portrayal of a difficult reality, of early motherhood embedded in a terrifying logic of social reproduction, the Dardenne brothers' thirteenth feature film emerges as a new way of doing things, a form of appeasement in their often somber cinema. Far from being the product of blissful optimism, the maternity home that welcomes these young mothers seeks to highlight their ability to fight and hope if only someone lends them a helping hand.
The ecumenical jury has no other say about this film, which " illustrates an ethical approach, not through grand demonstrations but through kind gestures. It is a story told gently in the best tradition of the authors, who once again are able to bring novelty to their refined style. "
" The film explores the first essential relationship in all human life: motherhood ," the jury added. "It brings us back to a profound truth: love can endure even when the family, that fundamental social structure, is failing, when circumstances are adverse, when the burden of adult responsibilities weighs on youth. "
This is the third trophy awarded to the Dardenne brothers at this year's Cannes Film Festival, after the Ecoprod Prize for their eco-responsible approach, and the Positive Cinema Prize. Before a third Palme d'Or?
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