Director, Ulrike Ottinger, and the Blood Countess team on stage; Credit: Elza Osmane, Chronicle.lu

On Saturday 14 March 2026, the Luxembourg City Film Festival (LuxFilmFest) held the Awards Ceremony of its sixteenth edition at Kinepolis Kirchberg in Luxembourg City, followed by the premiere screening of The Blood Countess by Ulrike Ottinger.

The event gathered festival organisers, juries, filmmakers and guests to celebrate the winners of this year’s competition before presenting the closing film.

Author and filmmaker David Rault opened the ceremony by welcoming the audience and reflecting on the atmosphere of this year’s edition. He said: “This edition has been nothing short of electric,” highlighting the role of filmmakers and juries in shaping the programme. “Over the past week, the international jury has travelled from the streets of Thailand to the courts of seventeenth century Austria,” he continued.

The ceremony also honoured French actress Isabelle Huppert with the festival’s Talent Award 2026. French actress Emmanuelle Béart, who also served as a member of the international jury, presented the award and reflected on Huppert’s career and artistic approach. “You are a curious woman, a researcher, an anthropologist of the human soul [...] You always seem drawn to the most complex and ambiguous areas of human experience,” she said.

In her acceptance speech, Isabelle Huppert thanked the festival and spoke about the role of film festivals in preserving the cinema experience. She highlighted: “Festivals are very important because they are still places where we see films in big theatres, on very big screens. It is the continuity of cinema. It is our life for all of us, those who make it and those who watch it too.”

During the ceremony, the festival juries announced the winners of the various awards presented during this year’s edition.

The Kids Jury Award went to Olivia by Irene Iborra Rizo. The School Jury selected Têtes Brûlées by Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama, while the Youth Jury Award by Kinepolis recognised Feels Like Home by Gábor Holtai.

The International Film Critics Award (FIPRESCI) honoured Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari. The 2030 Award by Luxembourg Aid and Development went to Amílcar by Miguel Eek, and the Documentary Jury Award by BGL BNP Paribas recognised Memory by Vladlena Sandu.

From the nine films in competition, the International Jury awarded the Grand Prix to My Father’s Shadow by Akinola Davies Jr. In their statement, the jury said the film “deeply touched the jury by its profound humanity and the sensitivity with which it depicts its characters,” highlighting its balance between “an intimate story and a broader social context.”

Luxembourg City Film Festival Managing Director, Gladys Lazareff, later addressed the audience and thanked the festival team and volunteers for their work during the event. She noted that the festival had already welcomed more than 22,000 spectators and expected around 40,000 participants by the end of the edition.

Before the screening, festival Artistic Director, Alexis Juncosa, joined the stage to welcome the audience and introduce the film. He described the presence of the German filmmaker as a special moment for the festival, noting that it was an honour to welcome “one of the great incarnations of German avant-garde.”

Invited onto the stage, German filmmaker and photographer Ulrike Ottinger explained that she had written the script several decades earlier. “It was a big project and it was difficult to do, but in the end we managed to do it,” she said.

Asked about her approach to portraying the historical figure of Elisabeth Báthory, Isabelle Huppert, who also took the stage, noted: “We enter into a film inspired by what a director expresses to you through words and through who they are.” She added that the film moves away from realism. “We are not in a realistic universe. We are in a kind of fantasy world,” she said, describing this approach as liberating for the actor.

Following the discussion, the filmmakers invited several members of the cast and crew onto the stage and thanked the festival and its partners for their support. The evening concluded with the screening of The Blood Countess, and a cocktail reception afterwards.

The next LuxFilmFest will take place from 4 to 14 March 2027.