06/03/2025 - The artistic director of the Grand Duchy’s renowned festival provides a sneak peek of what’s in store ahead of its anticipated opening

The 15th edition of the Luxembourg City Film Festival (LuxFilmFest) is kicking off today, and will run until 16 March (read news). Ahead of the festival, artistic director Alexis Juncosa spoke to Cineuropa about curating this year’s selection, the growing influence of Central and Eastern European cinema, and the festival’s focus on emerging voices, societal themes, and gender parity. He also discussed the challenges of organising the event on a limited budget and the festival's evolving role in shaping local and international cultural dialogue.

Cineuropa: As the artistic director for LuxFilmFest, how did you approach curating this year’s selection of films, and what specific themes or trends do you feel best represent the festival’s unique identity?
Alexis Juncosa: The first decisive factor was the number of works considered. We received over 1,000 entries for this year's edition. Fortunately, we had anticipated this phenomenon by professionalising our selection committee. In difficult times, there is a clear tendency towards an anti-cyclical approach, which is based on burlesque and incorporates comic elements where they are not necessarily expected. There is also the completion of the disappearance between fiction and documentary, which everyone has been noticing for years. Then, whether it was a coincidence of the production calendar or a genuine underlying trend, we noticed a great vitality in the Central and Eastern European scene, where last year all eyes were on South America.

As far as our identity is concerned, we're sticking to what characterises us. We like emerging cinema, societal issues, debut works, and of course, our competitions are parity-based, as they have been almost since the birth of the festival 15 years ago. This has never been an effort. This is something that our partners and friends, the distributors and sales agents, have understood perfectly well, as they regularly contact us with proposals that include the phrase ‘this is a LuxFilmFest film.’ I have to admit that it is a source of pride for them to see a certain consistency in our curation. They know we're not afraid to mix festival hits with more experimental entries. This promises to be a joyous mix for the juries, of which we are so proud.

Reaching the 15th edition is a significant milestone for LuxFilmFest. What special events have you planned to commemorate this anniversary and deepen audience engagement?
All festivals are suffering from inflation, and we are no exception to the rule. In the absence of financial largesse, we've put an enormous amount of enthusiasm and creativity into developing social events. We're also taking the opportunity to set up a showcase devoted entirely to series because, although this aspect was already present in certain initiatives, it is now a specific area that we want to support.

How do you see the festival influencing the local creative community, and what impact do you hope it will have on the broader cultural dialogue in the region?
We know for a fact that the festival is a unique generator of opportunities, complementing existing initiatives with its own strengths. The proof is in the growing collaboration between professionals and the event. This tends to confirm that they see their interest and support us, as we do, in a circular approach.

Considering the current global challenges and shifting cultural landscapes, what obstacles did you encounter while organising LuxFilmFest, and how did you and your team innovate to ensure a successful event?
We've always worked with a budget that some would say is out of line with what we produce. So yes, the crisis is even more cruel to us this year, but we're making up for it with an inventive and incredibly motivated team. One of the ways we've managed this is by optimising the presence of guests, some of whom, like Trine Dyrholm or Albert Serra, are directors or actors in one section and jury members in another. I think that resourcefulness is also part of our identity.

Looking ahead, how do you envision LuxFilmFest evolving in the coming years, and what role do you hope it will play in shaping both local and international cinematic narratives?
We often think about this. I have the privilege of chairing Europa Film Festivals, a European federation of festivals, through which we address the major challenges facing the sector. At LuxFilmFest, we meet in a lively melting pot of festivals, vendors, directors, producers, and I think we've found what makes us special. While others specialise in co-production, we want to be a ‘safe space’ where ethical or structural issues are discussed. This year, for example, we'll be looking at crisis management, trigger warnings, and the practical contribution to films (where some see it as a constraint) of new professions, such as that of intimacy coordinators. The nicest compliment we could receive would be to be considered, in all humility, as ‘a happy think tank with daring programming.’