The beginnings of Luxembourg cinema and the predominance of documentaries
The first film shot in Luxembourg lasts 2 minutes and dates from 1899. Its subject is the Mercier champagne factory in Luxembourg. It was commissioned by the Lumière brothers for the 1900 Universal Exhibition. Documentary film has long held an important place among Luxembourg's achievements. But despite the efforts and talent of some of its authors, the documentaries made in the 1920s remained largely isolated. In 1930, René Leclère, originally from Luxembourg, made Un clown dans la rue, a silent film in Brussels. Unfortunately, copies and negatives have disappeared. Another name to remember between the 1930s and 1940s is Pierre Bertogne. He shot a number of 16 mm films recounting the historical events of the period. After the Second World War and until 1979, filmmaker Philippe Schneider held the monopoly on Luxembourg production, shooting some 30 documentaries alongside advertising and tourism films. Although in the late 1960s, a few Frenchmen decided to shoot films in Luxembourg to circumvent French regulations, very few films stood out. However, one film stands out: Barbet Schroeder's More (1968), a cult film for the hippie generation, about a young German man and an American woman who experiment together with the pleasures and, above all, the hell of drugs.
The turning point in 1989 and the acceleration of production from the 1990s onwards
In 1989, to mark the country's 150th anniversary of independence, the government decided to invest 15 million Luxembourg francs in the production of Paul Kieffer's Schacko Klak , a film adaptation of the novel of the same name. It tells the story of author Roger Manderscheid's childhood near the Luxembourg capital during the Second World War. The film was very well received by the public. It was also during this pivotal year that the government decided to develop the audiovisual sector by creating the Centre National de l'Audiovisuel. The 1990s also saw a number of important milestones. In 1992, Pol Cruchten's Hochzäitsnuecht became the first Luxembourg feature film to be presented at the Cannes Film Festival. Eight months later, it was awarded the Max Ophüls Prize in Saarbrücken. Since then, several Luxembourg co-productions have appeared at international festivals. These include Une liaison pornographique by Frédéric Fonteyne (1997), Kirikou et la sorcièreby Michel Ocelot and L'Ecole de la chairby Benoît Jacquot (1998), and Jaime by Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos (1999).
The 2000s
Around 15 feature films are made each year in the Grand Duchy, most of them co-produced with foreign companies. Some are set in Luxembourg. Such is the case with Der neunte Tag (2004) by German director Volker Schlöndorff, or Retour à Gorée (2007) by Swiss director Pierre-Yves Borgeaud, whose hero's journey is partly set in Neumünster Abbey, Luxembourg City. For their part, Le Club des chômeurs (2001) and La Revanche(2004) depict social life in the country in a rather sombre light, far from the usual clichés. Rounding off this overview of Luxembourg cinema is the co-production Mr Hublot (2013) by Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares, the first 3D film made in Luxembourg and winner of the Oscar for Best Short Film in Hollywood in 2014. Gutland (2018), a dramatic film directed by Luxembourger Govinda Van Maele, tells the story of a mysterious German stranger arriving in a small village in the territory. Finally, Läif A Seil (2023) is the most expensive film ever made in the Luxembourg language: 4.9 million euros. Directed by Loïc Tanson, this western follows Hélène, a young woman who returns to her native hamlet to seek revenge against the tyranny of a patriarchal family. The film has been selected to represent Luxembourg at the Oscars and Goyas 2024.
