Photo : Charles Caratini
Part 1 // Articles
cites the work of young producers such as Bernard Michaux and relatively new production company Deal (founded by actress and director Désirée Nosbusch and experienced producer Alexandra Hoesdorff) as evidence that the industry is willing to welcome fresh blood. But Luxembourg’s film industry has to rely on co-productions to feed the 650 or so mouths reliant on it for work. Just three films were eligible for the best film category at the Filmpräis, whereas the best co-production category listed a total of 24 films made over the last two years. Fortunately, foreign companies have come to recognise the wealth of multilingual technical talent available in the Grand Duchy and that plays as important a role in their decision to come to Luxembourg as the tax breaks on offer for investments made into the local economy. Stars such as Al Pacino, Colin Firth, Scarlett Johansson, Jean Dujardin, Isabelle Huppert and Mélanie Laurent have all made films in Luxembourg and acclaimed British director Terence Davies finished shooting sequences in the Grand Duchy for his literary adaptation Sunset Song (another Iris co-production) earlier this year. As well as the Filmakademie, the recently opened Filmland studio complex in Kehlen – marketed as a “one stop shop” for the local industry – has also helped foster an atmosphere of togetherness.
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FlYdoscope // 2014 — \2
“People know they can’t work alone, and the spirit there is quite unique,” says Daleiden. “Colleagues abroad are always impressed at how the industry here works together.” Representatives from all arms of the local industry, as well as Luxembourg culture minister Maggy Nagel, will be in Cannes again this year, where the Film Fund hosts a Luxembourg pavilion directly on the beach behind the Palais des festivals. Luxembourg has one sole representative on the official programme – Amour Fou’s Austrian-German co-production Amour Fou, directed by Jessica Hausner, has been selected for the “Un certain regard” section. But Daleiden stresses the importance of having a presence in Cannes when a multitude of production companies and potential investors
from the United States, Asia and beyond descend on the French Riviera. “It is the biggest annual meeting of the film industry in the world. You have to be there.”.
Everyone’s a winner: award recipients at the Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis. Tous récompensés : les heureux vainqueurs du Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis.
“ There is a tremendous sense of solidarity within the industry” Guy Daleiden