HOLY COW marks Louise Courvoisier as a powerful new voice in cinema, winning the 2024 Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Youth Prize in the Un Certain Regard category.
In the Jura region, renowned for its Comté cheese, 18-year-old Totone (Clément Favreau) has his childhood cut short after a devastating tragedy. Suddenly the sole carer for his 7-year-old sister Claire (Luna Garret), and forced to sell his father’s farm equipment to make ends meet, Totone devises a plan: follow in his family’s cheesemaking footsteps and win the €30,000 Comté cheese prize – even though he has no idea of where to start.
With an unfiltered realism, this debut features heartfelt performances by non-professional actors and real farmers, bringing raw authenticity to Courvoisier’s first feature film. Shot on location in the countryside of the director’s childhood, and with her entire family contributing to the soundtrack and set design, HOLY COW is a beautiful ode to neorealist classics like Bicycle Thieves made fresh for modern audiences.
Much more than an insight into rural life, HOLY COW pays tribute to community, resilience, love, and cheese curds in pastoral France.
