(L-R): British Ambassador, John Marshall; Festival Organiser, Geoff Thompson; Irish Ambassador, Peadar Carpenter;
Credit: Dorte Storup
On Wednesday evening, the 8th annual British & Irish Film Season (BIFS) in Luxembourg opened at the Ciné Utopia in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg.
The Ambassador of Ireland to Luxembourg, Peadar Carpenter, talked about the importance of the film production industry and welcomed the screening of so many independent productions in Luxembourg, stressing the event shows the strengths of British and Irish collaboration.
Festival organiser Geoff Thompson thanked the volunteers, the sponsors (with Orange Luxembourg as Gold Sponsor this year, along with NN Investment Partners and Aberdeen Standar Investments) and the partner organisations, singling out in particular the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Galway Film Fleadh, with which the BIFS has retained strong contacts over the past few years. He also emphasised the importance of partners such as the Goeres Group and Luxair, for bringing over special guests, as well as DHL for transporting the films on hard disks (DCPs) from all corners of the globe.
New this year will be Thursday evening's Film Quiz for teams of four, with attractive prizes offered by the sponsors.
The Opening Screening that followed was Maudie, by Aisling Walsh. The melancholy but emotional film told the story of Maud Lewis, a painter in Nova Scotia who was crippled with arthritis yet gained happiness from living very simply and enjoying painting.
Next up on Thursday is Writing Home, a Filmbase production, with Access All Areas and The Secret Scripture on Friday evening.
For full details, including ticketing, see www.bifilmseason.lu
