'Stephanie' by Leonardo Van Dijl is part of the Official Short Film Competition of the 73rd Cannes Festival. The short films Competition, which culminates in the jury awarding the Short Film Palme d’or, will take place next autumn at the Palais des festivals in Cannes.

Leonardo Van Dijl closes his trilogy of short films with 'Stephanie', after his previous films 'Get ripped' and 'Umpire', that all investigate complex relationships in a sport arena. Van Dijl won the VAF Wildcard in 2015 with his graduation short 'Umpire', about a fourteen-year-old tennis talent and her coach. He then made 'Stephanie' with this VAF Wildcard, mentored by Fien Troch ('Home') and produced by De Wereldvrede. He is currently also in development of his feature film debut in collaboration with De Wereldvrede.

Leonardo about the selection: "We have been working on this film for quite a while and have sometimes thought of Cannes, but being part of the official competition is not really something that you dare to dream of out loud. It's fantastic that the world of 'Stephanie' spoke to the programmers. I'm very grateful for the fantastic cast and crew who gave 'Stephanie' a voice and hope that it will inspire others."

Synopsis 
Stephanie smiles as she's applauded by the crowd. The 11-year old gymnast jus won her first title. Her coach Patricia embraces her as they both admire the gold metal they have worked so hard for. The girl is crushed with attention, everybody wants to have a picture with her and expresses their high hopes. But the more recognition she gets, the more she realises that the game has only begun. 

The film stars debuting actrice Charlotte Verwimp and Sofie Decleir ('The Day') as her coach. Daniel Bouquet ('Sound of Metal') acted as DoP and Ludo Troch ('Daens') edited the film. The sound was provided by Yanna Soentjens, hair & make-up by Michelle Beeckman, costumes by Ellen Blereau and the art direction executed by Silke De Rycke.

'Stephanie' was written and directed by Leonardo Van Dijl and produced by Gilles Coulier, Gilles De Schryver and Wouter Sap for De Wereldvrede. The film was supported by The Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF). The festival distribution is handled  by Wouter Jansen of Square Eyes and Polish New Europe Film Sales is taking care of the international sales. #stephanieshortfilm