From 28 to 31 October, the Film Fund Luxembourg is hosting the 21st edition of the Francophone Co-production Meetings, a professional event dedicated to French-language co-productions (read the news). The projects — fiction, animation and documentary — are presented to an audience of buyers, sales agents, broadcasters and financiers from across the French-speaking world. Guy Deleiden, director of the Film Fund Luxembourg, tells us more about it.

(L'articolo continua qui sotto - Inf. pubblicitaria)

Cineuropa: What is the Film Fund Luxembourg's vision for this 21st edition of the Francophone Co-production Meetings, and how does hosting the event in Luxembourg mark a significant step in the country's co-production strategy?
Guy Deleiden: For this edition of the meetings, the Film Fund Luxembourg intends to reaffirm the central place of the French-speaking world in international audiovisual creation. The return of the event to Luxembourg symbolises the country's desire to consolidate its role as a crossroads between French-speaking players, focusing on cooperation based on a common language, culture and values.

Exchanges between European countries — France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg — are now well established, but distance makes partnerships with Quebec or other French-speaking territories more complex. The Francophone Co-production Meetings thus offer an ideal framework for strengthening these ties and encouraging smoother collaboration, particularly with North America and Africa.

The event is deliberately intimate and convivial, entirely focused on professional dialogue. Holding it outside of any festival allows participants to concentrate fully on meetings and project development.

The programme includes presentations of 25 projects, individual meetings with French-speaking funds, a masterclass by Abderrahmane Sissako, a round table discussion on inclusive co-production, and several cultural events promoting networking.

In light of developments in the audiovisual sector and the rise of international collaborations, what specific advantages and mechanisms does Luxembourg offer French-speaking producers in the context of a co-production project?
Luxembourg has established itself as a trusted partner for French-speaking producers, combining a creative multilingual environment, solid financial support and a consistent political commitment to the audiovisual sector. Our main support for co-production includes a selective scheme (AFS) designed to support film-making and promote the development of the audiovisual production sector in Luxembourg. This support can take the form of aid for the writing, development and production of audiovisual projects based on expenditure incurred in Luxembourg film-making. In a European context marked by budgetary restrictions, the Luxembourg government has announced an increase of around 10% in the Film Fund's budget from next year. This measure, which is part of a four-year plan, guarantees increased visibility and sustainable support for project leaders.

This budgetary stability is attracting more and more foreign partners, particularly French-speaking ones, seeking additional funding. While investments from American and Asian platforms are multiplying, Luxembourg is reaffirming the importance of maintaining a strong European and French-speaking dynamic.

The linguistic and cultural proximity to many countries is also a key lever. The special relationship with Quebec, Luxembourg's only regular French-speaking partner outside Europe, illustrates this desire for lasting collaboration between the two sides of the Atlantic.

In light of past experience and the successes achieved in previous editions, what types of collaborations or projects do you think are most promising today in the French-speaking world, particularly in terms of stimulating innovation and diversity in film production?
The Francophone Co-production Meetings have already enabled the emergence of numerous iconic and innovative projects, such as Jacques Molitor's Wolfkin [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] and Éric Lamhène's Breathing Underwater [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Eric Lamhène e Rae Lyn Lee
scheda film]. Other minority co-productions, such as Bertrand Mandico's She Is Conann [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Bertrand Mandico
scheda film] and Blanca Li's virtual reality work Le Bal de Paris, reveal a growing interest in hybrid and immersive approaches. These collaborations demonstrate the French-speaking world's ability to reinvent itself by supporting a diversity of stories and formats that reinforce the vitality of French-language cinema on the international stage.