(L-R): President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins; Galway Film Fleadh President, Kate O'Toole;
Credit: Geoff Thompson
Luxembourg's National Selection Commission for the Oscars have chosen the film "Gutland", produced by the Luxembourgish company Les Films Fauves, to represent the Grand Duchy at the 91st edition of the Academy Awards in the category "Foreign Language Film Award"; it goes on the "long-list" which will be reduced to the short-list in January.
This film, written and directed by the Luxembourger Govinda van Maele, is a rural thriller in which a young German delinquent finds refuge in a small Luxembourg village. The attitude of the peasants towards him, at first sight suspicious, changes radically when he gets in touch with Lucy, the mayor's daughter. As he gradually finds his place in the community, it seems that he is not the only one who wants to avoid the past rising to the surface.
Shot in various Oesling villages and on the Gutland plateaus, the film - supported by the Film Fund Luxembourg - features Frederick Lau as well as Luxembourg actors Vicky Krieps and Marco Lorenzini. Production in Luxembourg was provided by Gilles Chanial and Jean-Louis Schuller with technicians including Narayan Van Maele (director of photography), Audrey Hernu (artistic director) and Fabienne Adam (makeup).
Gutland celebrated its world premiere in September 2017 in the "Discovery" section of the Toronto International Film Festival. The Luxembourg premiere took place in February 2018 as part of the Luxembourg City Film Festival, where the film won the Audience Award. Gutland has also been selected in more than 30 international festivals and major festivals of each continent: Tokyo International Film Festival (Japan), Palm Springs International Film Festival (USA), International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands), Festival Premiers Plans of Angers (France). It was recently awarded the "Best International First Feature" at Galway Film Fleadh (Ireland).
The film was released in cinemas in Luxembourg and Germany in May 2018; it will be released in Belgium on 12 September and in France on 9 November 2018.
The nominations for the "best foreign film" (shortlist) will be announced on 22 January 2019.
The National Selection Commission for the Oscars is composed of 7 people representing the audiovisual sector: Vesna Andonovic (journalist), Aude-Laurence Clermont Biver (Actors.lu), Nicole Dahlen (Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg), Guy Daleiden (Fonds national de soutien à la production audiovisuelle), Raoul Nadalet (Union luxembourgeoise de la production audiovisuelle – ULPA), Jim Probyn (Association luxembourgeoise des techniciens de l’audiovisuel – ALTA), Julie Schroell (Association des réalisateurs et des scénaristes – LARS).
