“In this scene Tori and Lokita are very happy to eat a pizza together,” says Luc Dardenne, director with Jean-Pierre Dardenne of Tori e Locita. “We chose to shoot a long take, the movements of the characters dictate the movements of the camera”.
The film tells the story of two migrants, Tori, 11, and Lokita, 16. They live by their wits in a Belgian city, posing as brother and sister. The two hang out at Betim’s restaurant, a man who uses his business to cover up a drug ring they courier, and sometimes pays Lokita for sexual favors. The latter is trying to obtain a work visa with which to support her and Tori, but she also has to deal with the debt contracted with the people who brought her there and also think about the mother and five brothers she left behind in Cameroon .
Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne are two Belgian directors and screenwriters. The last feature films they have directed are The young age (2019) e The unnamed girl (2016). Tori and Lokita was presented in competition at Cannes 2022 where it won the special prize for the 75th anniversary. The Dardenne brothers have won the Palme d’Or twice, in 1999 with Rosetta and in 2005 with The infant. A love story.