On Thursday 29 February 2024, the 14th annual Luxembourg City Film Festival held its official opening at screening room #10, full with a 459-seat capacity, in Kinepolis-Kirchberg.

Georges Santer, President of the Luxembourg City Film Festival spoke in French, in German and in English, and welcomed everyone present to the 14th edition of the festival and thanked all those who supported the festival in different ways. He talked about the coming days of the festival, both the films and the guests expected, as well as the range of different events planned. He also referenced the festival being a meeting place and described Luxembourg as a bridge to other countries and cultures.

Luxembourg’s Minister for Culture, Eric Thill, spoke in Luxembourgish, English and French, first referencing the Opening Screening, The Outrun. He addressed Luxembourg’s strengths and referenced the 40,000 festival-goers in 2023 as well as pointing out the you people’s programme. He also referenced the well-known Viggo Mortensen who is s scheduled to attend the festival.

Maurice Bauer, present in his capacity of Alderman at the City of Luxembourg, spoke in French and in English, emphasising the festival becoming a highlight of the city’s cultural calendar. It has become a tremendous “calling card” for the capital city and helps shape its cultural identity.

Gladys Lazareff, Managing Director of the festival, who spoke in French, and Alexis Juncosa, the Artistic Director of the festival, who spoke in English, and introduced the juries.

The evening then included a tribute to Chinese filmmaker Wang Bing in a montage from his different films. Wang Bing was present himself and addressed the audience briefly, through an interpreter.

The opening screening, The Outrun by Nora Fingscheidt and starring Saoirse Ronan, was then projected. Set in the Orkney Islands off Scotland, it tells the story of 29-year-old Rona who has been living in London after graduating but is without a steady job. She returns to her family to try to face her demons and sort out her life, but her parents have their own issues. She takes a job as an environmentalist and starts to find way, all the time while the audience is shown flashbacks illustrating how bad her personal situation had become.

The screening was followed by a reception for invited guests.