JULIAN
Cato Kusters
After an unexpected encounter, Fleur and Julian fall madly in love. Soon after Julian proposes, an ambitious, yet challenging idea starts to dawn on Fleur. Slowly but surely she works out a plan to get married in every country where she and her wife are allowed to do so. Fuelled by their love and a rising sense of urgency, they take a leap of faith. After only four marriages, their journey comes to an inevitable, painful halt. The BRIFF’s take: Cato Kusters transforms a unique love story into a universal tale about identity, the freedom to be oneself, and the strength of the bonds that shape us. Carried by the moving performances of Nina Meurisse and Laurence Roothooft, the film sensitively explores the way trans people are perceived and the persistence of prejudice. Balancing tenderness and melancholy, Julian celebrates the power of love, memory, and the lasting mark we leave on the lives of others. Toronto International Film Festival 2025 : Discovery Selection
⭐ Screening and Q&A in the presence of Cato Kusters on September 5 ⭐
STARRING
Nina Meurisse
Laurence Roothooft
Rosalia Cuevas
Peter Seynaeve
Zach Hatch
Jennifer Heylen
Yannick De Coster
Joep Van der Geest
David Coburn
Claire Bodson
DIRECTOR
Cato Kusters
WRITERS
Angelo Tijssens
Cato Kusters
SOUND
Arne Winderickx
PHOTOGRAPHY
Michel Rosendaal
EDITING
Lot Rossmark
MUSIC
Evgueni Galperine
Sasha Galperine
PRODUCER
The Reunion
Les Films Du Fleuve
Topkapi Films
DISTRIBUTOR
Lumière Publishing
Cato Kusters
Cato Kusters (born in 1998) combines a Master’s degree in Directing with a Bachelor’s degree in Editing from RITCS School of Arts. For Evi Cats, she edited the documentary Les Murs Qui Crient, which premiered at IDFA and later received the VAF Wildcard in the Documentary category.
Alongside her work as an editor, she has continued to direct and edit music videos for artists including Eyes of Another, Bluai, Kids With Buns, and KRANKk.
She graduated with the short film Finn’s Hiel, which won the Jury Prize at the Ghent Film Festival and the Audience Award for Best International Short Film at the Créteil International Women’s Film Festival. Screened in the Next Generation Competition at the 2023 Brussels Short Film Festival, the film was also selected by numerous national and international festivals.
The success of Finn’s Hiel attracted the attention of producers Michiel and Lukas Dhont, with whom she began developing, in 2022, her debut feature, Julian, an adaptation of Fleur Pierets’ novel of the same name.
Cato Kusters’ work explores the gestures that connect us amid confusion and polarization. In 2024, she was selected as one of the “Future Five” of the CONNEXT programme.
FILMOGRAPHY
2022 : Finn’s Hiel (short film)