

Julie Keeps Quiet
Description
With astute attention to framing and shot design, this riveting debut puts its rising tennis star front and center as she navigates the suspension of her coach Jeremy amid rumors of abuse. A power hitter on the court, Julie is introverted in other realms. She requests that her new coach, Backie, not make a shining example of her to her teammates and deflects whispered conversations about Jeremy’s actions while also continuing to communicate with him by phone and text. Avoiding melodrama while rising to a virtuosic ending, director Leonardo Van Diji expertly conveys the pressures and anxieties Julie faces as school officials and her parents carefully probe her for details of untoward behavior. Van Diji’s cinematic bravura is matched by the performance of his spectacular lead Tessa Van den Broeck, who embodies the character’s protective cocoon of reticence underneath her unmistakable athletic prowess. —Rod Armstrong

Leonardo van Diji is a writer-director based in Belgium. He began his career with the short film, Get Ripped (2014), and went on to make two more shorts, Umpire (2015) and Stephanie (2020). Julie Keeps Quiet is his feature debut.
Film Details
LanguageDutch, French
Original Language TitleJulie zwijgt
Year2024
Runtime97
CountryBelgium, Sweden
DirectorLeonardo Van Diji
ProducerGilles Coulier, Gilles De Schryver, Wouter Sap, Roxanne Sarkozi, Delphine Tomson
Executive ProducerNaomi Osaka, Jan Naszewski, Florian Zeller, Leonardo Van Diji, Federica Sainte-Rose, Edgar Daarnhouwer, Dirk De Lille, Stuart Duguid, Marcin Luczaj, Olivier Mortagne, Martien Uyttendaele
WriterRuth Becquart, Leonardo Van Diji
EditorBert Jacobs, Ludo Troch
CinematographerNicolas Karakatsanis
MusicCaroline Shaw
CastTessa Van den Broeck, Ruth Becquart, Koen De Bouw, Claire Bodson
Closed CaptionsClosed Captions are not currently confirmed for this film
Audio DescriptionAudio Descriptions are not currently confirmed for this film
American Sign Language (ASL) InterpretationAmerican Sign Language Interpretation is not currently scheduled for this film