DIRECTOR: Leonardo Van Dijl
STARRING: Tessa Van den Broeck, Pierre Gervais, Claire Bodson, Laurent Caron
RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 37 minutes
LANGUAGE: French, Dutch
As the star player at an elite tennis academy, Julie's life revolves around the game she loves. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club's players are encouraged to speak up. But Julie decides to keep quiet.
***
Julie Keeps Quiet is Leonardo Van Dijl’s feature film debut which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, winning both the Prix Sacd and the Prix Fondation Gan. Since then, Julie Keeps Quiet has also been invited to the Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, and Sarajevo Film Festivals, and appeared in Poland's New Horizons Festival. The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Julie Keeps Quiet has been shortlisted for the European Film Awards. Tennis player Naomi Osaka is now an executive producer of the film.
Julie Keeps Quiet, Leonardo Van Dijl’s feature debut, is the official Belgian entry for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards. The Belgian jury selected the film to compete for the coveted statuette for the Best International Feature Film category.
The film is produced by Les Films du Fleuve. The Dardenne brothers serve as co-producers, while Florian Zeller serves as an executive producer under Blue Morning Pictures.
Julie Keeps Quiet is a drama and it was filmed in Brussels, Belgium.
To check out all previous submissions for Belgium, click HERE.
STARRING: Tessa Van den Broeck, Pierre Gervais, Claire Bodson, Laurent Caron
RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 37 minutes
LANGUAGE: French, Dutch
As the star player at an elite tennis academy, Julie's life revolves around the game she loves. When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club's players are encouraged to speak up. But Julie decides to keep quiet.
***
Julie Keeps Quiet is Leonardo Van Dijl’s feature film debut which premiered in Cannes’ Critics’ Week, winning both the Prix Sacd and the Prix Fondation Gan. Since then, Julie Keeps Quiet has also been invited to the Karlovy Vary, Melbourne, and Sarajevo Film Festivals, and appeared in Poland's New Horizons Festival. The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Julie Keeps Quiet has been shortlisted for the European Film Awards. Tennis player Naomi Osaka is now an executive producer of the film.
Julie Keeps Quiet, Leonardo Van Dijl’s feature debut, is the official Belgian entry for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards. The Belgian jury selected the film to compete for the coveted statuette for the Best International Feature Film category.
The film is produced by Les Films du Fleuve. The Dardenne brothers serve as co-producers, while Florian Zeller serves as an executive producer under Blue Morning Pictures.
Julie Keeps Quiet is a drama and it was filmed in Brussels, Belgium.
To check out all previous submissions for Belgium, click HERE.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
“Julie, is there someone you can talk to about these things?”
Julie Keeps Quiet, the debut feature from Belgian director Leonardo Van Dijl, is a tense and subtle exploration of silence, power, and survival in the world of elite youth sports. Set in a prestigious Belgian tennis academy, the film follows Julie, a teenage prodigy whose disciplined routine and fierce determination have positioned her on the brink of professional success. However, as whispers of inappropriate behavior by her coach Jeremy begin to surface, Julie’s tightly controlled world starts to unravel. What follows is a gripping character study, where silence becomes both a defense mechanism and a means of self-preservation in a setting fraught with unspoken tension.
Tessa Van den Broeck, a non-professional actor with real tennis experience, delivers a remarkable performance as Julie. Her portrayal captures the internal conflict of a young woman grappling with the weight of expectation, potential abuse, and the quiet complicity of those around her. Van Dijl’s decision to focus on Julie’s silence, rather than any overt revelation or confrontation, adds layers of complexity to the narrative. Julie’s choice to remain quiet is not just about fear or repression, but a calculated move to preserve her future. The film masterfully examines how silence can serve as a form of self-defense, especially when one’s personal and professional identity are at stake.
Van Dijl’s direction is patient and deliberate, allowing the film to build its tension through subtle visual cues and muted performances. Cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis enhances the atmosphere with static, carefully framed shots that contrast with the frenetic energy of Julie’s tennis practices. The camera often remains fixed, allowing Julie to dart in and out of the frame, symbolizing her internal struggle and the emotional turmoil she works hard to suppress. The film’s color palette, dominated by overcast grays and muted blues, mirrors the emotional tone, while the score by Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw is sparse yet effective, adding a layer of unease without ever overwhelming the film’s delicate restraint.
While Julie Keeps Quiet shares thematic similarities with other #MeToo-era films, it stands apart due to its restraint and refusal to deliver easy answers or dramatic catharsis. The film’s strength lies in its ability to convey the weight of silence and complicity without descending into melodrama. The academy’s staff, knowing that Julie is the prime candidate to accuse Jeremy, proceed with an investigation that feels performative, more concerned with protecting the institution than uncovering the truth. Julie’s silence, far from being a passive choice, becomes an act of resistance, allowing her to maintain control over her narrative and her future.
Julie Keeps Quiet is a quietly devastating film that examines the fine line between discipline and repression, and the price one must pay to keep going. Van Dijl’s debut is a carefully crafted, artfully restrained study of a young woman at a crossroads, caught between her desire for success and the unspoken pressures of those around her. The film’s understated approach to its subject matter makes it all the more powerful, offering a chilling, thought-provoking look at the emotional cost of staying quiet in the face of abuse and institutional negligence.
(This review contains spoilers.)
“Julie, is there someone you can talk to about these things?”
Julie Keeps Quiet, the debut feature from Belgian director Leonardo Van Dijl, is a tense and subtle exploration of silence, power, and survival in the world of elite youth sports. Set in a prestigious Belgian tennis academy, the film follows Julie, a teenage prodigy whose disciplined routine and fierce determination have positioned her on the brink of professional success. However, as whispers of inappropriate behavior by her coach Jeremy begin to surface, Julie’s tightly controlled world starts to unravel. What follows is a gripping character study, where silence becomes both a defense mechanism and a means of self-preservation in a setting fraught with unspoken tension.
Tessa Van den Broeck, a non-professional actor with real tennis experience, delivers a remarkable performance as Julie. Her portrayal captures the internal conflict of a young woman grappling with the weight of expectation, potential abuse, and the quiet complicity of those around her. Van Dijl’s decision to focus on Julie’s silence, rather than any overt revelation or confrontation, adds layers of complexity to the narrative. Julie’s choice to remain quiet is not just about fear or repression, but a calculated move to preserve her future. The film masterfully examines how silence can serve as a form of self-defense, especially when one’s personal and professional identity are at stake.
Van Dijl’s direction is patient and deliberate, allowing the film to build its tension through subtle visual cues and muted performances. Cinematographer Nicolas Karakatsanis enhances the atmosphere with static, carefully framed shots that contrast with the frenetic energy of Julie’s tennis practices. The camera often remains fixed, allowing Julie to dart in and out of the frame, symbolizing her internal struggle and the emotional turmoil she works hard to suppress. The film’s color palette, dominated by overcast grays and muted blues, mirrors the emotional tone, while the score by Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw is sparse yet effective, adding a layer of unease without ever overwhelming the film’s delicate restraint.
While Julie Keeps Quiet shares thematic similarities with other #MeToo-era films, it stands apart due to its restraint and refusal to deliver easy answers or dramatic catharsis. The film’s strength lies in its ability to convey the weight of silence and complicity without descending into melodrama. The academy’s staff, knowing that Julie is the prime candidate to accuse Jeremy, proceed with an investigation that feels performative, more concerned with protecting the institution than uncovering the truth. Julie’s silence, far from being a passive choice, becomes an act of resistance, allowing her to maintain control over her narrative and her future.
Julie Keeps Quiet is a quietly devastating film that examines the fine line between discipline and repression, and the price one must pay to keep going. Van Dijl’s debut is a carefully crafted, artfully restrained study of a young woman at a crossroads, caught between her desire for success and the unspoken pressures of those around her. The film’s understated approach to its subject matter makes it all the more powerful, offering a chilling, thought-provoking look at the emotional cost of staying quiet in the face of abuse and institutional negligence.
