'Young Hearts' Helmer Anthony Schatteman Says 'It's Okay to Be Yourself'

There's a moment near the beginning of Anthony Schatteman's impressive and necessary new film, "Young Hearts," where a young 14-year-old boy, Elias (fab newcomer Lou Goossens) is staring out his window with his father (Geert Van Rampelberg) at new neighbors moving in. The camera, via Elias'a gaze, catches 14-year-old Alexander (startlingly good Marius De Saeger), hair billowing in the wind, helping his dad unload a truck. Elias is eating a wrap of some sort, and his glance lingers longer than usual, enough for his father to point out that he's making a mess. It's the start of many looks and stares from both boys, at one another, usually lovingly and longingly, sometimes confused and often hopeful.

Set in the Belgian countryside, "Young Hearts" tells the story of two very different teens who fall for one another. Alexander and his family are from Brussels, and he is quite comfortable with liking boys. Elias lives in a more provincial place, physically and emotionally, and needs to come to terms with these new, bourgeoning feelings.

The film mirrors Schatteman's 2012 short film, "Kiss Me Softly," where the two teen leads were 17. His altering the ages of the teens gives the story more of an innocent quality and sets it apart from typical gay coming-of-age romance stories where the focus leans sexual. Here, it's about a deep crush that might blossom into love.

Schatteman based the film on his personal experiences and how he came to understand and accept his same-sex attraction, but the plot deviates from his own life and shows the kind of reality he wishes had happened, so the film plays more like an enchanting fable–one that feels quite urgent in these increasingly homophobic times.

This is the writer-director's first feature. He's made a number of shorts and has directed work for Belgian television. His most recent credit was the Irish series, "Northern Lights" for Lionsgate.

"Young Hearts" bowed at the 2024 Berlinale, then played Cannes, and has been an official selection at many other festivals worldwide winning a ton of awards. To date, the work has sold to 75 countries and is the most successful film in Belgium this year.

The movie is currently showing at the IFC Center in New York.

EDGE recently had a chat with Schatteman about his gem of a film.

EDGE: With all the homophobia in the world right now, this film has the kind of message that we really need. It's important to have films like this one for younger kids who feel different.

Anthony Schatteman: Yeah, true. It's a story I thought was not necessary anymore, because I am in this environment where all people are okay with my sexuality. But in the last years, we see and hear more and more stories about rainbow flags being burned, people that still get killed because of their sexuality, because they're seduced by teenagers who find them on Grindr, and then the moment they meet, they get killed... In Brussels, a few years ago, a guy got stabbed in a park by teenage kids who killed him because he was dating on Grindr. So, these things are in your head, and you try to not think of them too much, because otherwise you would become too scared.

EDGE: "Young Hearts" is based on your short film, "Kiss Me Softly," from 2012.

Anthony Schatteman: ... It was a big (deal) with young kids. I never intended to become a director for a young audience... The short had no sexual scenes, it was just about the struggle of this boy. And that's why a lot of teenagers could relate to it, because they didn't have to be ready for sex. It was just about love and first feelings. And a lot of people thanked me for finally having an example that they could relate to... and told me to make something longer about it. But for 10 years I was thinking, we're done with these stories, because in schools and everywhere people are (saying) that it's okay to be gay.

But then more and more of my friends who are parents told me, even though schools say it's okay, it's still quite taboo. It's still quite something that it's not easy to talk about... It's still a heteronormative society... I was working on another film, a darker one. It was going to be about me being dirty, living in Berlin --it was a real different story. But then a kid I worked with, he was nine years old, after a short film we did together, asked me, 'Anthony, can you recommend a movie that I could see, because I think I like a boy in my class. Just give me an example, about love, about happiness.' So, I was thinking, which movie can I recommend to a nine-year-old? And I couldn't find (one). We didn't have "Heartstopper" or "Love, Simon" yet...I can't show Call Me By Your Name" to a nine-year-old. "Brokeback Mountain?" Can you show it to a nine-year-old? And was like, why isn't there a Disney movie with two boys, just to tell kids it's okay?

EDGE: So, you took the premise of "Kiss Me Softly" you reduced the ages and went with it. Very interesting.

Anthony Schatteman: Yeah, it is interesting, because I was doing my Masters in Barcelona, thinking about which film I was going to make--it's the biggest task in the whole six years of film school. And my professors were like, 'Anthony, make stories that are close to you, because it's going to be easier.' ... I wrote it in one night--the script of "Kiss Me Softly"-- it was so clear for me. It is shot in my house. It was based on my parents. And years later, I was writing ("Young Hearts"), and my best friend is Lukas Dhont, who made the movie "Close" and "Girl" and during the writing, because he helped me in the beginning, I think I decided to just write what I know.

And after looking for six months for locations, my crew told me, 'Anthony, show us the locations that you know, because we've seen every farm in Belgium. Show us the real locations!' I did... And everyone was like, Anthony, we should do it here...And that was a really good decision. But in the beginning it was scary for me to do it, because it was quite a therapy session. All the scenes, I twisted them to be the scenes that I wish I had... It was like a utopian version of the story that I that I lived.

EDGE: So, it was partially autobiographical, but then you bent it to the way you wished it happened.

Anthony Schatteman: The way I wish I lived. If I was 14 or 13 years old right now, which reality would I like in the in the most Disney version of my dreams? And during the filming, I was sometimes thinking, Am I going too far? Is it too cliche? Is it too Hollywood? Is it too predictable? And I was like, fuck it, I wish I had a film like this...I, also, grew up with Hollywood movies. James Cameron, all these big directors were a really a big influence on me.

I really wanted to show kids that it's okay to be yourself and to fall in love with whoever you want. ... I really focused on my main goal audience, 8-to-14-years-olds.

The moment we knew the Berlinale was going be our premiere... I was like, how, how is it possible that they want my clear, straightforward story... So, it's really nice to see that not only my target audience was there, but also parents who thanked me that after seeing the film, who regretted the way they reacted after their kids came out.

EDGE: The film is very clever with various types of scenes that you would normally find in a teen love story, like there's a literal role in the hay, a playful sword fight, skinny dipping---all these things that you know you would find in coming-of-age sex comedies. What you do is you make it very innocent.

Anthony Schatteman: It wasn't easy because I wrote them as 15-year-olds in the script. But then during the casting process, we weren't really looking for a (specific) age. We saw kids between 11-and-18-years-old. We were looking for this innocence. Because I already knew that one of the first pictures I wanted to show were the two kids playing in the water, half naked, because this was real freedom. And the first time I showed the picture to my stepfather, he was like, 'Isn't this too pornographic?' And I was like, the fact that you think like this, maybe something's wrong with you.

A lot of people told me, don't do it, because America is not going to buy the movie. Skip the scene where they go skinny dipping. And I was like, no... Alexander is already everything that Elias is not in the beginning. The fact that he goes swimming naked was really to show it's not about sex. It's about being free and not caring about anyone else. And I was like, fuck it, if America doesn't want a movie because there's a naked scene in it then they shouldn't buy it. But, actually, no one said anything about it, because these kids are just a representation of innocence.

EDGE: The boys were absolutely amazing, authentic. Marius, in particular.

Anthony Schatteman: I'm really happy I found Marius, who plays Alexander, first. He came in with his nails polished... He had such a cool vibe. And I found the age (of the character) in him, not in the in the number...

We never asked, do you like girls or boys? It was not important for us. We just talked about emotions. And they said, like, we don't care. We also don't care if we're kissing a boy or a girl. For us, it's just like something mechanical during a film... They said it's just really important to be the face of a story like this, to tell our generation that it's okay.

EDGE: Marius already has this, this star quality. In the script, Alexander is a pretty progressive character. He's from the big city--Brussels--and he was in love with the boy once, and he has no issue with that. Marius sort of embodies, for so many of us, this boy we wish we knew back in high school.

Anthony Schatteman: Yeah, true. Growing up in my little town, I had a lot of friends, and I was okay, hanging out and stuff, but I didn't really fit in. In high school, I moved to Ghent, so that was the closest city to my town. I went to (study) drama in high school, and the moment I arrived in class, I was surrounded by other children like me, and they are still my best friends. Now. We're this group of friends that met when we were 15. We all wanted to become actors. (laughs) Big dreams! We all came from little villages around Ghent, and we came to this school to search for our own voices... it opened my eyes, and I really wanted to show this in the same way. The moment that I moved to Berlin, I was suddenly surrounded by other cultures... I was going out with people from my age who were like me... I really wanted to show how it is to grow up in a big city and be free and not care.

Marius was really like Alexander. He lives here, 200 meters from me, in Brussels...When we asked Lou to come visit us in Brussels, his eyes were really big... Marius was showing him the city. So, it was really nice. I could really take a lot of things from watching those two boys who became best friends during the period preparing the movie.

EDGE: Was it a long prep? Was there a rehearsal period?

Anthony Schatteman: We didn't rehearse. We only hung out for like, six months... We ate a lot of ice cream. We went to see a lot of movies together. We went bowling. We just made sure that there was this trust, not only for me, but for the child psychologist and therapist...He really handles these boys as important people, and he's always there.

EDGE: The film has played at many festivals, what has the experience been like?

Anthony Schatteman: In the beginning, you're like, am I dreaming? Is this reality? And then the reviews come in. I think the first one was Variety. As a director, you always dream of a review from these magazines--The Hollywood Reporter--The fact that those magazines wrote only positive things, that really made me realize that it's a good movie. Before, I was still doubting.

It's really cool to see how different cultures react. I knew I really made an American movie at Frameline opening night in San Francisco. We were in quite a big theater... Normally during the film, I go eat something with the people at the festival, but now someone told me, 'Anthony, you should come watch the reaction of the audience, because they're really expressive.' In Europe, we are quite modest during a screening. So, I was watching the people around me, and it was so beautiful. It was one of the best moments I had, because I saw how people reacted, A group of women were crying... One older guy next to me alone was also crying. I get emotional thinking of it, because it was so beautiful...

There was TikTok hype starting--the film got leaked on BiliBili this website where someone posted the film a few weeks before the Belgian release. At first we were in panic, but then we saw, suddenly, Lou had like, 230,000 followers on Instagram. A lot of kids from Indonesia, Brazil, were like, We need to watch the movie. Can we watch it on a big screen? So, I think it helped us create this buzz.

EDGE: Can you share a little about what you have coming up?

Anthony Schatteman: First I'm going to do a series for Netflix. We start shooting next week. I'm going to direct a whole season. I can't say the title yet. It's with my whole team from "Young Hearts" as well, not the actors. I didn't write it. I'm super happy they're giving me the trust to do it, because it's quite big. (We shoot) until mid-July. But I'm super ready and looking forward being on set after these two years of working on this movie and going around talking about myself. (laughs)

EDGE: Can you tell us anything about it?

Anthony Schatteman: It's not really for children. It's a lot of sex, drugs and rock and roll... I'm working on my next film as well... We just had the audience of 13-14-year-olds who really thought the movie was important. My next film is going to be the next step... I have to keep in mind that I have this audience now, and I really want to help them grow up in some kind of way, without being a teacher, but when you grow up, it is not easy to find your spot in the world. So, I was thinking, which movie would I want to see after "Young Hearts?" And that is the movie I'm going to make.

This interview has been edited for content, clarity and length.

"Young Hearts" is in limited release in the United States.