On Wednesday 16 December 2020, Film Fund Luxembourg (Fonds national de soutien à la production audiovisuelle) presented its annual activity report for 2019.
In 2019, Film Fund Luxembourg granted a total of €36,706,775 in selective financial aid. This included €1,969,394 for writing and / or development assistance and €33,587,381 for production assistance, including €1,150,000 for Cineworld projects. The fund also allocated €325,487 to "Carte blanche" assistance, €30,000 to assistance for writers, €324,309 to promotion assistance, €47,414,40 to grants and €15,500 to subsidies. A total of €54,270 went to music video projects.
In accordance with its international partnerships, Film Fund Luxembourg allocated the following amounts:
- €175,580 as part of an incentive measure with the Canada Media Fund for the co-development and co-production of film projects;
- €47,250 to a co-development fund with Screen Ireland for the co-development of film projects written and / or produced by women;
- €158,394 as part of its association with ARTE to invest in developments and co-productions intended to be broadcast on the Franco-German channel;
- €300,000 as part of its partnership with the FWB-RTBF Fund to support the development and production of French-speaking Belgian series projects.
The year 2019 was also marked by several selections, nominations and awards in all categories. Among the most prestigious were the following:
- Two films at the Berlinale: "Temblores" and "Flatland";
- Four films at the Cannes Film Festival: "Les hirondelles de Kaboul", "Chambre 212", "Viendra le feu" and "The Orphanage";
- Four films at the Venice Film Festival: "Collective", "Les épouvantails", "Cosmos within us" and "Sublimation";
- Five films at the Annecy Animated Film Festival: "Les hirondelles de Kaboul", "Zero Impunity", "Fox and Hare", "Ayahuasca" (Kosmik Journey), "Le voyage du Prince";
- Five films at the Toronto Film Festival: "Deux", "Collective", "Red Fields Mami", "Flatland" and "Viendra le feu";
- One film nominated for the César: "Pachamama".
In terms of fiction series, "Capitani", the detective series made in Luxembourg, reached audience records, whilst "Bad Banks series attracted excellent audience numbers and continued to collect nominations and awards around the world.
According to Film Fund Luxembourg, the highlight of 2019 was the French-speaking Co-Production Meetings, organised for the first time in Luxembourg, with the participation of many professionals of the film industry from French-speaking countries on different continents. It was also within the framework of these meetings that the first edition of a film music composition competition was organised.
The diversity and richness of the national cinematographic heritage were in the spotlight of the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, which gave pride of place to Luxembourg cinema. The icing on the cake was when "Les hirondelles de Kaboul" won, among others, the Valois diamond for best film.
Finally, the VR Pavilion set up by Film Fund Luxembourg, in partnership with Digital Luxembourg and the Phi Centre in Montreal, found its place in the programming of the Luxembourg City Film Festival. The 2019 selection of the best creations shot in virtual reality presented on a dozen installations at the Casino - Forum d'art contemporain generated real enthusiasm among the public.
