British & Irish Film Festival Luxembourg 2026 Spring Edition

On Thursday 19 March 2026, the British and Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) formally opened its Spring Edition at Ciné Utopia in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg.

The event was officially opened by Festival Organiser and President of Festival Events Asbl, Geoff Thompson, who welcomed those in attendance, including Deputy Mayor of Luxembourg City, Maurice Bauer, and director Nick Kelly, whose documentary film The Song Cycle will be screened at the festival.

Geoff Thompson remarked on the successful screening of four short films the previous evening and the presentation of the awards for this year's Young Filmmakers' Competition, which was won by William Murray and Fedor Fedorov of the Leinster Lyceé for their two-minute short film, The Road to Nowhere Flowers. He then welcomed Deputy Mayor Bauer to the podium to address the audience.

Maurice Bauer congratulated Geoff Thompson and the festival team for the work undertaken in running the festival and establishing it as “a fixed point in our annual cultural agenda” and said: “On behalf of the city of Luxembourg, I say an enormous thanks to you, Geoff, and your team for doing this huge job which you have done for establishing this.” He added: “We are really very honoured to be associated with this and to partner up with you.”

Geoff Thompson then detailed and thanked the festival’s various partners and sponsors, including the British and Irish Embassies to Luxembourg, Culture Ireland, Screen Ireland, the Irish Film Institute, Luxembourg's Ministry of Culture, the Film Fund Luxembourg, the City of Luxembourg, PwC Foundation Luxembourg and the Oeuvre Nationale du Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte, for their help in supporting the film festival and noted that this was “an illustration of how the community has come together to support this event”. 

He then introduced the opening film, I Swear, the BAFTA Award-winning story of Scotsman John Davidson, whose diagnosis of Tourette's Syndrome at a young age alienated him from his peers, as he struggled with a condition few people at the time had witnessed. The educational and inspirational film was received enthusiastically by the audience, who openly enjoyed its humour and humility.

This was followed by a screening of From That Small Island, attended by Ireland's Ambassador to Luxembourg, Jean McDonald. 

From That Small Island, narrated by Colin Farrell and shot on location in 17 countries worldwide, won the Outstanding International Documentary Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival in September. The documentary explores Ireland and its people, their origins, their movement around the world and what it means to be Irish.

The screening was followed by a question-and-answer session with producer Briona Nic Dhiarmada.

The British and Irish Film Festival Luxembourg Spring Edition 2026 runs until Saturday 22 March. 

Detailed information on the programme can be found at: https://festivalevents.lu/filmfestival/news?id=74.