British & Irish Film Festival Sells Out Opening Screening

The British and Irish Film Festival Luxembourg (BIFFL) formally opened its 2024 Autumn Edition on Monday 16 September at the Cinémathèque in Luxembourg-Ville with a sold-out Opening Screening.

Guy Daleiden, Director of Film Fund Luxembourg, filled in for Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Eric Thill, who could not attend due to illness; he opened the festival and thanked the organisers for supporting the film industry, including Luxembourgish co-productions.

Maurice Bauer, Deputy Mayor at the City of Luxembourg, also spoke and referenced the cosmopolitan make-up of the residents of the city and recognised the importance of the festival in the city's cultural offering. He confirmed that the city will continue supporting the festival in the coming years.

The festival organiser, Geoff Thompson, referenced the Cinémathèque not going to be available from 2025 due to planned renovations, hoping that the architects will retain its historical features. He also explained that this was at least partly the reason they were holding some festival in the Kinoler regional cinema in Kahler, as well as at the Ciné Utopia arthouse cinema.

He referenced splitting the annual festival - now in its 15th year - into Spring and Autumn editions, and thanked the British and Irish embassies and ambassadors, the organisations that awarded the festival grants, sponsors, advertisers and partners (including community partners), as well as the volunteers, audiences and special guests, of which there are many for this edition.

Geoff Thompson then addressed the programme and listed the actors, directors and producers attending various screenings, including:  

- On Tuesday: Lee Crowley, producer of The Line, a drama about a young Ukrainian refugee arriving in a rural Irish town and facing acceptance and resentment in equal measure; also Mark Agar (the director), Robert Flynn, Heather Lynn and also Siobhan Aislinn (the producer) and Caroline Quinn, all from Blurred Lines, a powerful drama about consent.

- On Friday, Imelda May is coming over for The People Before, also the film's producers Anne Heath and Sally White; plus the director of Barber, Fintan Connolly.

- For the Closing film on Saturday evening, Froggie, a bilingual comedy drama, the actor Sean T O'Meallaigh will attend.

The festival's second Young Filmmakers Competition is being launched at the Shorts Evening on Wednesday, with the winning entries to be announced at the BIFFL 2025 Spring Edition in March, and the top prize is two Industry Tickets to the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland next July.

Friday 27 September marks the first of two screenings of the organisers' own documentary Luxembourg in America, which was filmed in Wisconsin, America last month during the Luxembourg America Cultural Society's 38th annual Luxembourg Fest, a four-day event. The film provides a glimpse into Luxembourg's heritage in the US following emigration in the 19th century and how their descendants thrive today. This is another first for the festival which continues to evolve from year to year.

Following the speeches, the screenings included Warts and All, a short film by Part Shortt in his directorial debut, and The Teacher, a thought-provoking drama set in Palestine before the current war. Pat Shortt participated in a post-screening Q&A in which he talked about his evolution as a storyteller, before a networking reception rounded off a comprehensive evening.

For details on the festival programme, see www.festivalevents.lu.

(Photo credit: Ali Sahib)