Queried once before on their artistic collaboration, the answer came back that they're equal partners on both scores.

This is the second time the Dardenne brothers will share the limelight at Cannes. Their La Promesse (The Promise) was programmed in the Directors' Fortnight in 1996. From there, it went on to win a bundle of prizes at international festivals: the Grand Prix and the International Critics (FIPRESCI) Award at Valladolid, the Prix Humanun from the Association of Belgium Critics, the Best Film Award at Potsdam, the FIPRESCI Award at Frankfurt, the Audience Award at Namur, and a pair of Best Foreign Film Awards from American film critics.

Since the pair set up the Dérives production workshop in 1975, they have produced 60 documentaries and five feature films. The Promise is one of those feature films in which the lines between fiction and documentary are sometimes wiped out altogether. The 15-year-old Igor, a non-professional actor plucked from the streets, spends days picking wallets and working for his abusive father before coming of age and rebelling.

In Rosetta, an 18-year-old girl (Emilie Dequenne as Rosetta) struggles to find her place in the world. She has to fight for every job she gets, maintaining her determination with every setback. Again, a non-professional stands before the camera and has to carry the film practically on her presence alone - the trademark of the Dardenne brothers. Ron Holloway