LuxFilmFest press conference; Credit: Jazmin Campbell

On Tuesday 11 February 2020, the organisers of the Luxembourg City Film Festival, also known as LuxFilmFest, presented at a press conference the details of the 10th edition of the festival, which is taking place from 5 to 15 March 2020.

Among the speakers at the press conference, held at the Cinémathèque, were Luxembourg’s Minister of Culture Sam Tanson, Mayor of the City of Luxembourg Lydie Polfer, Film Fund Luxembourg Director Guy Daleiden and Duncan Roberts, a member of the LuxFilmFest Artistic Committee. The main highlight, however, was the unveiling of the LuxFilmFest 2020 programme. Artistic Director Alexis Juncosa presented the various films to be screened, as well as artistic collaborations and “cartes blanches”, film competitions and the nominations, and some of the many events to accompany the main festival.

A total of 127 films are on the programme, with highlights including US feminist drama / thriller Promising Young Woman, which will open the festival on Thursday 5 March 2020. This screening follows the film's world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 25 January 2020. Another highlight is the screening of Luxembourg co-production Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness during the Awards Film Night on Saturday 14 March 2020. True History of the Kelly Gang, a British-Australian biopic about Australian bushranger Ned Kelly will close this year’s festival on Sunday 15 March 2020.

PROGRAMME

  • Opening Film: Thurs. 5 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 19:00: Promising Young Women, drama / thriller by Emerald Fennel (English with French subtitles, 113 min; US, 2020)
  • Awards Night Film: Sat. 14 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 19:00: Yalda, A Night for Forgiveness, drama by Massoud Bakhshi (Persian with English subtitles, 89 min; FR/DE/CH/LU/LB/IR, 2019)
  • Closing Film: Sun. 15 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 19:00: True History of the Kelly Gang, biopic / drama by Justin Kurzel (English with French & Dutch subtitles, 124 min; AU/UK/FR, 2019)

Official Selection Out-of-Competition

  • Fri. 6 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 14:00 & Mon. 9 March @ Cinémathèque @ 14:00: Midnight Traveler, documentary by Hassan Fazili (Perisan & English with French & English subtitles, 88 min; US/QA/UK/CA, 2019)
  • Fri. 6 March 2020 @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 19:00: Downhill, dramedy by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash (English with subtitles tbc, 86 min; US, 2020)
  • Fri. 6 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00: The August Virgin, drama by Jonás Trueba (Spanish with French subtitles, 125 min; ES, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Cinémathèque @ 14:00: The Short History of the Long Road, drama by Ani Simon-Kennedy (English with subtitles tbc, 93 min; US 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 19:00: Dreamland, drama / thriller by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte (English, 98 min; US, 2019)
  • Sun. 8 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 16:30: Un Fils, drama by Medhi M. Barsaoui (Arabic & French with French subtitles, 96 min; TN/FR/LB/QA, 2019)
  • Sun. 8 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 16:30: Charity event: The Swallows of Kabul, animated film by Zabou Breitman & Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec (French with English subtitles, 81 min; FR/LU/CH, 2019)
  • Sun. 8 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30: Greener Grass, comedy / satire by Jocelyn Deboer and Dawn Luebbe (English with French subtitles, 101 min; US, 2019)
  • Sat. 8 March @ secret location @ 18:30 & Sat. 14 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:15: Wrinkles the Clown, horror / documentary by Michael Beach Nichols (English, 78 min; US, 2019)
  • Mon. 9 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:00: A Dark-Dark Man, crime thriller by Adilkhan Yerzhanov (Kazach & Russian with English subtitles, 130 min; KZ/FR, 2019)
  • Mon. 9 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 16:30 & Sat. 14 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:30: Moffie, drama / war romance by Oliver Hermanus (English & Afrikaans with English subtitles, 103 min; ZA/UK, 2019)
  • Mon. 9 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30: Enormous, comedy by Sophie Letourneur (French with English subtitles, 98 min; FR, 2019)
  • Tues. 10 March @ Cinémathèque @ 14:30: The Father, dramedy by Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov (Bulgarian with subtitles tbc, 87 min; BG/GR, 2019)
  • Tues. 10 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:45: Radioactive, biopic / drama by Marjane Satrapi (English with French subtitles, 103 min; UK/HU, 2019)
  • Fri. 13 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00 & Sat. 14 March @ Cinémathèque @ 20:30: Just 6.5, action / crime / drama by Saeed Roustaee (Persian with French / English subtitles, 134 min; IR, 2019)
  • Sat. 14 March @ Cinémathèque @ 18:30: Rare Beasts, black comedy by Billie Piper (English, 87 min; UK, 2019)
  • Sat. 14 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:45: Mother, drama / thriller by Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spanish & French with subtitles tbc, 129 min; ES/FR, 2019)

Luxembourg (Co-)Productions

  • Fri. 6 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:30: I Will Cross Tomorrow, drama by Sepideh Farsi (English, Greek and Arabic with French subtitles, 90 min; FR/GR/LU/NL, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 14:00: The Prince’s Voyage, animated film by Jean-François Laguionie and Xavier Picard (French with English subtitles, 76 min; FR/LU, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 19:00: Jumbo, fantasy drama by Zoé Wittock (French with English subtitles, 93 min; FR/LU/BE, 2020)
  • Sun. 8 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30: Tune into the Future, documentary by Eric Schockmel (English & Luxembourgish with French & English subtitles, 80 min; LU, 2019)
  • Sun. 8 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00: Between Heaven and Earth, road movie / drama by Najwa Najjar (Arabic, Hebrew & French with English subtitles, 95 min; PS/IS/LU, 2019)
  • Wed. 11 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 16:30: Red Fields, drama / musical by Keren Yedaya (Arabic & Hebrew with subtitles tbc, 93 min; IL/LU/DE, 2019)
  • Wed. 11 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00: Dreamland, thriller / horror by Bruce McDonald (English with French subtitles, 92 min; CA/BE/LU, 2019)
  • Thurs. 12 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 16:30: The Scarecrows, drama by Nouri Bouzid (Arabic with French subtitles, 97 min; TN/MA/LU, 2019)
  • Thurs. 12 March 2020 @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 19:00: Skin Walker, drama / psychological thriller / horror by Christian Neuman (English with French & Dutch subtitles, 89 min; LU/BE, 2019)
  • Fri. 13 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 16:30: Norie, documentary by Yuki Kawamura (Japanese with English subtitles, 80 min; LU/JP, 2019)
  • Sat. 14 March 2020 @ Ciné Utopia @ 16:30: River Tales, documentary by Julie Schroell (Spanish with French subtitles, 82 min; LU, 2019)
  • Sun. 15 March 2020 @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 16:30: Eng Äerd, documentary by Tom Alesch (Luxembourgish with French & English subtitles, 84 min; LU, 2020)

Official Competition

The jury for the international competition will be presided over by French-Iranian director Marjane Satrapi. Other confirmed jury members to date include British director Mike Newell and Luxembourg actor Luc Schiltz.

  • Fri. 6 March @ Cinémathèque @ 18:30, Sat. 7 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30 & Wed. 11 March @ Cinémathèque @ 14:00: Bait, drama by Mark Jenkin (English with French subtitles, 87 min; UK, 2019)
  • Fri. 6 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30, Thurs. 12 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 14:00 & Fri. 13 March @ Cinémathèque @ 20:30: Effacer l’historique, comedy by Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern (French with subtitles tbc, 106 min; FR/BE, 2020)
  • Fri. 6 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:15, Mon. 9 March @ Cinémathèque @ 21:00 & Wed. 11 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 10:00: Babyteeth, dramedy by Shannon Murphy (English with French & Dutch subtitles, 117 minutes; AU, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Cinémathèque @ 19:00, Sun. 8 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00 & Fri. 13 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 10:00: EMA, drama / musical / dance by Pablo Larraín (Spanish with English or French & Dutch subtitles, 102 min; CL, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Cinémathèque @ 21:00, Tues. 10 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00 & Thurs. 12 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:00: Song Without a Name, drama / history by Melina León (Spanish & Quechua with English or French & Dutch subtitles, 97 min; PE/ES/US/CH, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:15, Sun. 8 March @ Cinémathèque @ 19:00 & Sat. 14 March @ Cinémathèque @ 11:00: About Endlessness, drama by Roy Andersson (Swedish with English or French & Dutch subtitles, 70 min; SE/DE/NO, 2019)
  • Sun. 8 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30, Thurs. 12 March @ Cinémathèque @ 21:15 & Fri. 13 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30: Mosquito, drama / war history film by João Nuno Pinto (Portuguese with French or English subtitles, 122 min; PT/FR/BR/MZ, 2020)
  • Sun. 8 March @ Cinémathèque @ 21:30, Mon. 9 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:30 & Thurs. 12 March @ Kinepolis Kirchberg @ 10:00: Valley of Souls, drama by Nicolás Rincón Gille (Spanish with French or English subtitles, 137 min; CO/BE/BR/FR, 2019)
  • Mon. 9 March @ Cinémathèque @ 18:30, Wed. 11 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00 & Thurs. 12 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30: Atlantis, drama by Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukrainian with French & English subtitles, 108 min; UA, 2019)
  • Tues. 10 March @ Cinémathèque @ 18:30, Wed. 11 March @ Ciné Utopia & Fri. 13 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 14:00: Moving On, drama by Yoon Dan-Bi (Korean with French or English, 105 min; KR, 2019)

Documentary Competition

There will also be a documentary competition, during which a jury composed of directors from various international film festivals will judge six documentaries.

  • Fri. 6 March @ Ciné Utopia @16:30, Thurs. 12 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:00 & Fri. 13 March @ Cinémathèque @ 18:30: 143 Sahara Street by Hassen Ferhani (Arabic with French or English subtitles, 100 min; DZ/FR/QA, 2019)
  • Fri 6 Marc @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30, Sat. 7 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:30 & Tues. 10 March @ CIné Utopia @ 16:30: Overseas by Sung-A Yoon (Folipino & English with French or English subtitles, 90 min; BE/FR, 2019)
  • Fri. 6 March @ Cinémathèque @ 21:00, Tues. March @ Ciné Utopia @ 18:30 & Weds. 11 March @ Cinémathèque @ 21:30: Collective by Alexander Nanau (Romanian with French & English subtitles, 109 min; RO/LU, 2019)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:45, Sun. 8 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:30 & Weds. 11 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:00: Adolescents by Sébastien Lifschitz (French with English subtitles, 135 min; FR, 2019)
  • Sun. 8 March @ Cinémathèque @ 12:30, Mon. 9 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 21:30 & Tues. 10 March @ Cinémathèque @ 16:30: The American Sector by Courtney Stephens & Pacho Velez (English with French subtitles, 67 min; US, 2020)
  • Sat. 7 March @ Cinémathèque @ 10:30, Tues. 10 March @ Cinémathèque @ 18:30 & Weds. 11 March @ Ciné Utopia @ 19:00: Midnight Family by Luke Lorentzen (Spanish with French & English subtitles, 81 min; MX/US, 2019)

For more information on the 10th anniversary edition of LuxFilmFest, including the full programme and ticketing, visit luxfilmfest.lu.