The animated feature ICARE by Luxembourg director Carlo Vogele, a co-production by Iris Productions with France and Belgium, was chosen by the National Oscar Selection Commission to represent the Grand Duchy at the 95th edition of the Academy Awards, in the category of the best foreign film (International Feature Film).

The National Oscar Selection Commission, made up of representatives of associations and institutions of the Luxembourg audiovisual sector*, selected ICARE because of its artistic and aesthetic qualities as well as for its narration, which, freely inspired by Greek mythology, tells the story of the fiery youngster who flies too close to the sun from Icarus' point of view.

Through his eyes, viewers discover the injustices and cruelty of men with the protagonist; this narrative choice allowed director Carlo Vogele to develop a personal reading of the myth.

ICARE is Carlo Vogele's first feature film. The screenplay was co-written by Isabelle Andrivet and Carlo Vogele.

Entered production in 2019, ICARE counts among its Luxembourg team among others the actors Sascha Ley (Pasiphaé) and Tommy Schlesser (Astérion) for the Luxembourg voices as well as André Dziezuk (original music), Michel Dimmer (image editing) and François Debatty (1st assistant director). In Luxembourg, the film was produced by Nicolas Steil and Katarzyna Ozga of the production company Iris Productions.

ICARE was presented at the 2022 edition of the Luxembourg City Film Festival and has already been selected for numerous international festivals. The film was theatrically released in Luxembourg in April 2022.

From 2008 to 2015, director Carlo Vogele worked in Hollywood and helped create films such as "Up", "Toy Story 3", "Cars 2", "Brave", "Monsters University" and "The Good Dinosaurs". Alongside his work as an animator at Pixar, Carlo has made award-winning stop motion short films at numerous festivals.

ICARE will be submitted to the Oscars Selection Committee, which will in turn designate the five foreign films selected for the Oscars ceremony, scheduled for 12 March 2023. The nominations for the “International Feature Film” category of the Academy Awards will be announced on 24 January 2023.

*The National Oscar Selection Commission this year is composed of seven people representing the audiovisual sector:

  • Aude-Laurence Biver (Actors.lu)
  • Nicole Dahlen, Luxembourg Cinematheque
  • Guy Daleiden, Film Fund Luxembourg
  • Alexandra Hoesdorff, Luxembourg Audiovisual Production Union (ULPA)
  • Alexis Juncosa, Luxembourg City Film Festival
  • Fred Neuen, Luxembourg Association of Animation and Immersive Experience Producers (ALPA/XR)
  • Laura Schroeder, Luxembourg Association of Directors and Screenwriters (LARS)