Joachim Lafosse

Born on 18 January 1975 in Uccle, Belgium, Joachim Lafosse emerged as one of the most compelling voices in contemporary European cinema. After completing his secondary studies, he enrolled at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD) in Louvain‑la‑Neuve, where he honed his craft between 1997 and 2001. His graduation short, Tribu, a 24‑minute meditation on family dynamics, garnered the Best Belgian Short Subject award at the 2001 Namur Film Festival, signaling his arrival on the Belgian film scene. Lafosse’s early experimentation with documentary form, exemplified by the 2001 Scarface, displayed his willingness to blend narrative tension with social observation, a trait that would define his later feature‑length works. In 2004 he debuted his first full‑length film, Folie Privée, which captured the FIPRESCI award at the Bratislava International Film Festival, establishing his reputation for probing psychological intricacies with an unflinching eye. The semi‑autobiographical Ça rend heureux (2006) earned the Grand Prix at the Premiers Plans d'Angers festival, while Nue Propriété—starring Isabelle Huppert and the Renier brothers—competed for the Golden Lion at Venice and secured the André Cavens Award for Best Film from Belgian critics. Throughout the 2010s Lafosse continued to dissect intimate moral dilemmas, delivering acclaimed titles such as Our Children (2012), which competed in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and was Belgium’s Oscar submission, and The White Knights (2015), a stark critique of institutional power. His more recent projects, including After Love (2016), Keep Going (2018), and The Restless (2021), have reinforced his status as a filmmaker unafraid to explore the darker corners of human relationships. In 2023 he presented A Silence at the San Sebastian Film Festival, and his upcoming venture Les Petits Voleurs is slated for spring 2024 production, promising yet another chapter in his ever‑evolving cinematic journey.