Cultural and audiovisual mission accomplished at the CINEMANIA Festival in Montreal

A large delegation of professionals from the audiovisual production sector, led by Film Fund Luxembourg, visited Montreal from 2 to 5 November 2022. The aim of this promotional mission was to showcase the diversity of Luxembourg's creative output across the Atlantic and to deepen the long-standing relations with its Quebec partners.

The Film Fund Luxembourg has seized the opportunity offered by Luxembourg's place of honour at the 28^e Festival de Films Francophones CINEMANIA (to be held from 2 to 13 November 2022) to join forces with Kultur | lx, Luxembourg for Tourism and Image de marque du Luxembourg to organise this professional trip to Montreal.

The delegation of over 30 professionals from the audiovisual sector, including producers, directors, actors and technicians, took part in networking meetings, case studies and conferences to develop existing joint projects or make new contacts. These working meetings ended with visits to digital, animation and visual effects studios, as well as filming locations, to explore new avenues for collaboration.

Guy Daleiden, Director of the Film Fund Luxembourg, is delighted that " Luxembourg's presence in Montreal has been a great success in terms of raising the profile of the country's know-how and creativity. The meetings and professional exchanges will pave the way for the creation of new projects with our Quebec friends. Working transversally with other Luxembourg institutions and artists adds an extra touch of notoriety to Luxembourg's influence abroad".

Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister and Minister for Communications and Media, who is visiting Canada, took advantage of his trip across the Atlantic to join the Luxembourg delegation.

In his speech at the opening ceremony of the Cinemania Festival, Xavier Bettel stressed the vital role played by culture in our daily lives together, and the importance of respecting the dignity of human diversity. 

The Prime Minister was impressed by the welcome given to Luxembourg professionals in Montreal. " The interest shown by the public in the Luxembourg works on show at the festival, and the willingness of the Quebec sector to work with our Luxembourg producers, directors, technicians and actors, underline the great creativity and artistic skill of our national sector. I'm very proud to see that their hard work is greatly appreciated abroad. ".

During his visit to Canada, Xavier Bettel met Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa. During their exchange, the Prime Ministers reiterated the historic ties that unite Luxembourg and Canada. They also discussed their shared values based on the principles of multilateralism and respect for human rights, as well as their determination to combat climate change.

They also took stock of the excellent relations between the two countries and undertook to deepen them, particularly through closer economic cooperation, based on the results of the economic mission to Canada last June.

Xavier Bettel also met the Premier of Quebec, François Legault. Their conversation focused in particular on culture, including the audiovisual sector, economic cooperation and research. 

P.m.: Luxembourg cinema in French-language co-production has been highlighted by an unprecedented selection of 20 productions or co-productions (some made with Quebec), including 6 films in competition at the Festival, namely the feature-length drama " Plus que jamais" by Emily Atef (Samsa Film) in the "Visages de la Francophonie" section, 3 short films "L'Ogre" by Aurélien Pira (Zeilt Productions), " Caroline sur le toit" by Alejandro Bordier (Calach Films) and "La valise rouge" by Cyrus Neshvad (Cynefilms), as well as 2 feature-length documentaries: "L'invitation" by Fabrizio Maltese (Red Lion) and "Les témoins vivants" by Karolina Markiewicz & Pascal Piron (Paul Thiltges Distributions).