Adolf El Assal, Luxembourgish film director & producer;
A number of Luxembourg film-makers and actors in the film production sector in Luxembourg have been invited to attend the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale, which is taking place in Germany's capital from 16 - 26 February 2026.
Three Luxembourg co-productions have been included in the festival's Official Selection, A Greyhound of a Girl (PTD, animated), Ingeborg Bachmann - Journey into the Desert (Amour Fou, drama starring Luxembourg's Vicky Krieps) and La Sirène (animation, BAC Cinema).
Amongst those attending is Adolf El Assal who is one of 60 hand-picked attendees from over a thousand international talents who applied to attend; it is his second time attending The Talents in this context (in 2006 he was the first from Luxembourg to be selected). Its programme includes masterclasses, workshops and more industry events where young talents get the chance to meet with experts across a range of expertise, from production design, camera work, cinematography, acting, etc.
In talking with Chronicle.lu, he mentioned that he applied, and was selected, to pitch (as one of just 30) projects that have financing and are close to production: such events can held "close the gap" regarding financing, and it is held in the form of a competition where prize is also available to be won.
He is not a stranger to this festival: in 2008, his first feature film, Divizionz, was screened at the Berlinale - this had followed his Talents experience in 2006. This film sent on to be screened at more than a hundred festivals worldwide, including the New York Film Festival and Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic.
Since then, he has had success with a number of films such as Les Fameux Gars, Sawah (his most successful, as a director) and Baraki (a tv series for Netflix) - all these had secured part funding from the Luxembourg Film Fund. As a producer, he had his first co-production Pamfir (partly self-financed) screened at the Cannes International film Festival. All these films have been through Wady Films, registered in Luxembourg and based at 1535 in Differdange, and currently employs six full-time staff.
He also has two co-production short films on the programme of the upcoming Luxembourg City Film Festival from 2-12 March 2023.
He explained "My main goal is really to wrap the finance for my next film, Hooped, a coming-of-age drama in which a teenager thinks big. One of the storylines is set in the world of basketball. My goal is to shoot it this autumn or next spring. I have most of the cast in place. Regarding financing, I have commitments from Canada, Germany and Luxembourg, with just a small amount left to be found".
However, against this backdrop, a dark cloud is hanging over his ability to do his work. He explained that the Film Fund Luxembourg has suspended financing following receipt at the end of January of a three-page letter from a lawyer representing a family member which he claims is "baseless". To lift this suspension, the Film Fund has requested that he resolves his family issues. In this respect, he said that he has tried to contact said family member and his lawyer is trying to make contact with their lawyer. He understands that the family member is concerned that he is portraying aspects of their family in his next film which they would rather not happen. He stressed that in no way does this happen.
