Samenvatting

In Spring 2023, the movie Je verrai toujours vos visages was launched in France (English title: ‘All your faces’, Director Jeanne Herry). The movie tells the story of two restorative justice cases: one on victim-offender mediation years after a sexual abuse happened, the other one on a group dialogue between victims and offenders in prison. Both cases are put into scene in a remarkably realistic and authentic way. It reveals in a profound way the process through which all the participants are going during several months, with all their needs, questions, hesitations, anger and other emotions, and how the dialogical process supports their personal evolution. The movie also shows convincingly that restorative justice is not a ‘soft process’ at all, but that participation entails hard work for all. The picture as presented in the movie reflects, to some extent, the practice of restorative justice in countries as Belgium and The Netherlands, be it that the practice at the pre-sentence or sentence level is not being included in the movie. ‘All your faces’ offers an excellent introduction to restorative justice, performed by great and internationally renowned actors.