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Did you know? Luxembourg has an Oscar-winning film industry
Luxembourg produced “Mr Hublot” won this year’s Oscar for best animated short film, this first Academy Award for Luxembourg comes as a reward to the country’s film industry.
Far from being able to pride itself on a long and rich tradition of national cinema, the Grand Duchy has recently managed to find its place in the global audiovisual industry. The long list of awards attributed to Luxembourg filmmakers in major international festivals and a great deal of other evidence testifies to this considerable development. Day after day, year after year, the country witnesses the growth of a new jewel in the crown of its economy: the audiovisual production.
Since the 1990s, co-productions with foreign companies have regularly attracted leading film stars to Luxembourg. John Malkovich, Nathalie Baye, Nicolas Cage, Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, Patrick Swayze, Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino are but some who have demonstrated their talents on Luxembourg soil. Alongside the cream of the crop, Luxembourg actors, directors, producers and technicians have known how to get a piece of the action and managed to make a name for themselves on the international roll of honour of cinema professionals.
This marks the birth of a national industry that has no reason to be jealous of its famous foreign peers, Luxembourg now boasts more than 40 production companies, half a dozen of which regularly produce feature films, animation studios as well as other specialist services enterprises. Many Luxembourg companies have also created partner companies in other European countries, such as Samsa Film.
In short, this young branch of activity occupies over 500 film-makers, both from Luxembourg and abroad, who make a living plying their trade in Luxembourg.
and their work is paying off:
Very recently Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister and Minister for Communication and Media, acknowledges the triumph of "Mr. Hublot" which won the Academy Award for best animated short film.
"This major award honors its directors Laurent Witz and Alexandre Espigares as well as the company Zeilt Productions. The award also celebrates the talent of our animation artists and technicians. And it comes as an international acknowledgment of the high levels of creativity and quality in Luxembourg's entire audiovisual sector. Congratulations also go to Stéphan Roelants and his creative teams at Melusine Productions and Studio 352 for the exceptional achievement and Oscar nomination of the animated feature "Ernest & Célestine".
The film was supported by Film Fund Luxembourg (the official authority in charge of the promotion and development of the audiovisual sector) from the start, during its script writing phase, graphic development, directing, distribution and promotion.
It took three years to manufacture this animated short in 2D as well as 3D. Prior to its triumph in Los Angeles, the film scored a multitude of prestigious awards at international festivals (International 3D Society, Irvine International Film Festival, Kerry Film Festival, 3D Stereo Media, Les Nuits Magiques, Animage, etc.).
This latest success story shows that with less than 30 years of motion pictures history to lean on, Luxembourg acquires the means to develop its own expertise, and if the current situation is anything to go by, all the efforts have clearly been worthwhile.