Taking out the Venice Film Festival Orizzonti Award for Best Film, Eastern Boys is a chameleonic, erotic thriller and a compassionate portrait of desire.

When middle-aged Daniel propositions Marek, a handsome young Eastern European man who spends his days cruising around Paris' Gare du Nord, he invites a world of trouble into his life. Soon other young men arrive at his apartment and Daniel must defend himself and Marek from the group and their menacing leader.

The second feature from director Robin Campillo (They Came Back, MIFF 2005) – better known as the screenwriter for Laurent Cantet's Foxfire (MIFF 2013), Heading South (MIFF 2006) and The Class – Eastern Boys proceeds without judgement and with a sympathetic eye. With striking cinematography and an avoidance of cliché, the film balances tension with the quieter love story that underpins it.

"Fascinating … by turns a frightening home-invasion drama, a tender love story and a tense hide-and-seek thriller." – Variety