A record number of selections for Luxembourg at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival - Prime Minister Xavier Bettel on Luxembourg Day
13/05/2019 - 24/05/2019
Luxembourg co-productions are a milestone in the history of the Grand Duchy's audiovisual sector, with three films selected for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in the official "Un certain regard" competition and one for the "Quinzaine des Réalisateurs".
And to accompany this rich selection, the Prime Minister and Minister for Communications and Media, Xavier Bettel, will be travelling to Cannes to take part in the traditional Luxembourg Day on 17 May and meet professionals from the national film industry.
From 14 to 25 May 2019, the Film Fund Luxembourg will be setting up its pavilion, acting as headquarters, for the 18e time in a row at the International Village. It will host 20 companies and 3 entities under this umbrella, including production companies and companies specialising in post-production, sound and new technologies, as well as the EAVE training programme, the Luxembourg City Film Festival and the Europe Créative - Media support programme.
Un certain regard" selection
- Room 212directed by Christophe Honoré and co-produced by Bidibul Productions.
- The swallows of Kabul, animated feature film by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec, co-produced by Melusine Productions.
- The fire will comea feature film directed by Oliver Laxe and co-produced by Tarantula Luxembourg (film supported as part of the Cineworld).
Directors' Fortnight" selection
- The Orphanagedirected by Shahrbanoo Sadat and co-produced by Samsa Film (film supported as part of the Cineworld).
Visit film market2 feature films will be presented at the Frontiers Platform (a section dedicated to networking activities for the genre film industry):
- Skin Walkerby Christian Neuman, produced by Calach Films.
- Marionettedirected by Elbert Van Strien and co-produced by Samsa Film.
A dozen feature films seeking international distribution will also be screened at the film market, including Sawah (Deal Productions/Wady Films)Zero Impunity (a_BAHN/Melusine Productions), The Room (Bidibul Productions), Flatland (Deal Productions), Bayala (Fabrique d'Images), Escapada (Samsa Film), Invisible Sue (Amour Fou).
This year, 3 Virtual Reality projects will be on show at the pavilion during the Luxembourg day: Ayahuasca - KosmiK Journey, and 7 Lives directed by Jan Kounen and co-produced by a_BAHN and Fever directed by Karolina Markiewicz and Pascal Piron (carte blanche project supported by the Fund), to be seen in its world premiere.
In the presence of Xavier Bettel and Patricia O'Brien, Ireland's Ambassador to Paris, Guy Daleiden, Director of the National Support Fund for Audiovisual Production, and his Irish counterpart James Hickey will sign a co-development agreement aimed specifically at women filmmakers.
Finally, the Fund, in collaboration with the LARS (directors and scriptwriters) and ACTORS.lu (actors and actresses) associations, awarded grants to actors Astrid Roos, Sophie Mousel and Nilton Martins and directors Karolina Markiewicz and Pascal Piron to help them gain access to the Cannes film market.
