Luxembourg City Film Festival 2019 Opening;

The Luxembourg City Film Festival kicked off last Thursday evening with a private screening of Sebastián Lelio's "Gloria Bell" to a packed screening room #10 in Kinepolis-Kirchberg.

Prior to the screening, the 9th annual Luxembourg City Film Festival was opened with speeches from the President of the festival, Collette Flesch, and Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, with the festival managing director, Gladys Lazareff, and the festival's artistic director, Alexis Juncosa, both addressing the audience.

After the screening, the new B2B space of Kinepolis (the former Paul Eischen space) was the venue for a post-screening Opening Party.

Gloria Bell, directed by Sebastián Lelio and starring Julianne Moore: A divorcee in her 50s lives life to the full by dancing in clubs - along to a thumping soundtrack. The film is slow in parts but allows the characters to develop. She starts a relationship with someone who claims he is about to be divorced; however, he disappears at inopportune moments - in particular when she brings him to meet her children.

Greta, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloë Grace Moretz. Frances lives in New York City with a friend a works as a waitress. One day she spots a handbag left on the subway and does a good deed by bringing it back to it owner, Greta, a lonely widow who lives by herself. Frances befriends Greta and they strike up a friendhip; however, nothing is what it seems... A mix of drama, horror and mystery...

Ray & Liz, directed by Richard Billingham and starring Richard Ashton, Jamie-Lee Beacher and Michelle Bonnard. A slow-moving drama without much dialogue. Most of the scenes are shot in a squalid council flat outside of Birmingham where he and his brother were raised, and in a one-room flat his father lives in later in life. While not quite up to the level of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, Richard Billingham creates a detailed insight into one side of society that is ignored by many.

The Luxembourg City Film Festival lasts until Sunday 17 March - see http://www.luxfilmfest.lu/ for details.​