Zeno Graton, 2023, Belgium, 83 min.
Featuring an invigorating original score by Bachar Mar-Khalife and engaging performances, Lost Boys boldly explores ideas of freedom, the human need for love, and the ever-lingering effects that experiences in the juvenile detention system have on young people. After a failed escape attempt from a youth correctional facility, Joe (Peter von Kant’s Khalil Ben Gharbia) resigns to preparing for a return to his old life. The monotony of confinement is disrupted when an interesting new and rebellious boy named William (Julien de Saint Jean) joins the facility. The two are easy friends and quickly become very close. Within the confines of their cellrooms, and under strict surveillance, their love for one another must remain secret, conjuring allusions to Jean Genet’s classic Un Chant d’Amour.. (Garrett Stralnic)

In French with English subtitles.

TIGLFF Tampa Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature