Real Faces tells the resonating story of a girl coming to learn her genuine self and what it means to exist unabashedly in the world.
Director: Leni Huyghe
Genre: Drama, Coming of Age
Run Time: 92′
SXSW World Premiere: March 7-10, 2025
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA
The slow, intentional and purposeful Real Faces is a layered and thought-provoking film. It follows the story of Julia (Leonie Buysse), a 29 year old casting agent who moves to Brussels shortly after a breakup. As she attempts to navigate her new life, she is forced to deal with insecurities and what it means to balance personhood with an appetite for success.
What stands out most about Real Faces is that Julia isn’t a light hearted, girl-trying-to-make-it in the world character you find yourself rooting for. She depicts an uncomfortable season of life that many viewers have, or will, find themselves in. She represents an unglamorous, confusing, dizzying crossroads where you try to find who you are again after having an identity you thought was yours stripped away. She is someone that young women identify with, but feel ashamed of.
Director Leni Huyghe emphasized this in the director’s statement in the press notes for the film, saying characters like Julia still don’t find their way to the big screen often enough. She brings a relevant yet shameful life experience to life, challenging its perceived worthlessness and making it something distinguishable.
Real Faces is an reflective work that harps on themes people floating in their 20s tend to mull over — what it means to have human connection and how it ties with personal professional aspirations. The film is deliberate and has something to say about the human condition without screaming it in the viewer’s face. Leonie Buysse and Gorges Ocloo play Julia and Elliot beautifully, portraying two characters with a palpable connection who are funny and satirical yet have almost tragic undertones.
This story is for women, and anybody who ventures the female experience. It’s coming of age for those who feel they are too old to come of age. It shares experiences that may seem to be intuitive, but in actuality require guidance. Julia being an imperfect, complicated character further accentuates this: she is a model for those who break through the barrier of learning who they truly are.
The cinematography by Grimm Vanderkerckhove reflects the things in life that are slow and new and purposeful. It’s full of life, lingering on both the big and little spectacles of life. Both beautiful bustling portraits of Brussels skyline and grimy grout on the bathtub.
Real Faces tells the story of strength, ambition, internal reflection and connection. It prompts you to think about yourself and the journey of personhood and success. With its strong themes, it’s tied together through its intentional cinematography, authentic characters, slow yet purposeful pacing and unfamiliar storytelling.
Real Faces: Movie Plot & Recap
Synopsis:
After a breakup, 29-year-old Julia moves to Brussels and starts a new job as a casting agent for a an advertising agency. As she becomes closer with her microbiologist flatmate Elliot, she learns to navigate her life at its cross-roads and the boundaries between the idealized images she deals with in her career and the life she actually wants to live becomes blurred.
Pros:
- Emotional and reflective themes that prompts viewers to examine their own lives and circumstances
- Beautiful cinematography
- Talented young actors with lively chemistry
Cons:
- Slow pace that may lose or bore some viewers
- Melancholic themes that cause emotional responses
- A morally ambiguous main character who may be easy to relate to, but for some viewers it will be at times hard to root for her
Real Faces had its World Premiere at SXSW on March 7-10, 2025. Read our SXSW reviews!
