Félix, Maggy, Catherine, Marco and the others ...

While the 68th Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, the Luxembourg pavilion has been busy.
The Minister for Culture, Maggy Nagel, came to confirm her support for the audiovisual sector. "The Cannes Film Market gives me the opportunity to meet professionals, to follow developments in the sector and to listen to what they have to say". During the meeting between the professionals and the Minister, Paul Thiltges, President of ULPA, said he was particularly pleased that a new film conference would be held, providing an opportunity to assess the sector and identify new prospects. Yann Tonnar, representing LARS, welcomed the introduction of direct aid for scriptwriting and was pleased to be able to work closely with the Fund and the sector.
The Minister for Culture had the opportunity to see Jaco Van Dormael's film "Le tout nouveau testament", co-produced by David Grumbach for Juliette Films, which was selected for the Directors' Fortnight and received an extremely warm welcome.
The traditional Luxembourg day was marked this year by the presence of Prince Félix of Luxembourg, who had come to discover the world of cinema at Cannes and at the same time to encourage the audiovisual production industry. After a visit to the film market led by its director Jérôme Paillard and a stopover at the Luxembourg pavilion immortalised by the press, the Prince joined in the evening between Luxembourgers and their international co-producers.
From an international perspective, Nico Simon, President of Europa Cinemas, the international network of cinemas that screens European films, held his annual meeting before a panel of representatives from various European bodies.
As Vice-Chairman of the Association of European Film Fund Directors (EFADs), Guy Daleiden outlined the audiovisual priorities planned for the Luxembourg Presidency. The EFADs also developed a common position - which will shortly be presented to the press - on the strategy adopted by the European Commission for the digital internal market.
Romain Roll, co-ordinator of the European Federation of Fantasy Film Festivals, was also at Cannes to put the spotlight on genre films at the film market, in collaboration with the Frontières co-production forum and the Fantastic Film Mixer.