Luxembourg Film Fund forges ties with Canada, Switzerland at Cannes

The traditional Luxembourg Day organised at the Luxembourg pavilion as part of the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival was held on Friday 11 May in the presence of the Luxembourg Ambassador to France, Martine Schommer, representatives of the national audiovisual sector - including producers, directors, actors and technicians - as well as members of Film Fund Luxembourg.

Guy Daleiden, director of Film Fund Luxembourg, recalled that, since the last festival in Cannes, no less than 31 feature films were produced and new aides (CineWorld, Carte Blanche and video clips) were launched. For 2019, other cross-cultural initiatives will be announced over the coming months.

As regards the evolution of the sector, Guy Daleiden specified that a new evaluation scheme for selective financial aid is being negotiated with the professional associations concerned and should soon come into force.

The Luxembourg day ended with another tradition: a cocktail between Luxembourg professionals and their international partners.

Following the signing of the new audiovisual coproduction treaty with Canada and the launch of the call for projects as part of incentives for the co-development of the co-production of audiovisual projects, Canada's Minister of Culture and Communications, Marie Montpetit, responsible for the protection and promotion of the French language in Canada, visited the Luxembourg pavilion to discuss the impact of these agreements.

The President of the Swiss Confederation, Alain Berset, also visited the Luxembourg Pavilion and exchanged with the representatives of the Fund on the development of the respective sectors mentioned during the visit to Luxembourg of a delegation of Swiss producers last March.

At the film market, which annually attracts around 12,000 professionals, Luxembourg is present for the 16th time in a row with a pavilion at the International Village. This pavilion serves as a headquarters and a place of work for filmmakers, producers and the Luxembourg press, who came again this year: 19 companies are represented for a total of about 80 people, working in the audiovisual sector in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

In addition to Luxembourg films presented at the market, including Murer (Paul Thiltges Distributions) and Finding Jakob (Samsa Film), excerpts from the first animated feature film 'Pachamama', co-produced by Doghouse Films, were broadcast as a Work In Progress in Annecy Goes to Cannes.