By Matthias Wannhoff. The German early evening TV programme on the private channels can be rather gruesome. That's nothing new, but in spring 2008 it was particularly horrible. A game show candidate replied in all seriousness to a question about the career of an erotic filmmaker already active in the 1960s: “Did they already have films in the 60s?” A moment of shame for every German, which is nonetheless worth following up with a little bit of geographical musing: If you were to cross the border to Luxembourg and would have ask the same, seemingly history-blind question, you wouldn't be far from the truth at all. Because until the end of the 60s the trilingual grand duchy did have cinemas – but no film industry of its own.

The first Luxembourgian film required the business sense of a certain Philippe Schneider, who had already tried his hand on advertising and tourism films. His 1970 sex flick L’AMOUR, OUI! MAIS… may be the pioneering hour, but is hardly regarded as the finest hour of Luxembourgian filmmaking. It would be a strain to speak of a professional output before the 1980s, but still in this decade there were years without any Luxembourgian film being produced. But still this were the starting years for several figures who until today dominate the domestic scene: Paul Scheuer, Maisy Hausemer and Georges Fautsch, all of them full-time teachers, joined forces under the name “Atlantic Film Organisation“ and in 1981 directed the first feature film in the Luxembourgian language. Later that decade Andy Bausch, who is today considered as a national icon, presented his native country with the crime comedy TROUBLEMAKER (1988), the most successful domestic movie up to that point. Bausch broke his own record 14 years later with his ironic apology of unemployment LE CLUB DES CHOMEURS, which holds the box-office record until today.

In 1988 the Luxembourgian government decided to lend some support to the emerging film industry in form of a new law, which would make production costs tax deductible. About one year later the founding of the National Film Fund signalled the start of a funding programme for selected projects, with a budget that amounted to 5.4 million Euro in 2009. When in 2007 two production companies collapsed and left the domestic film industry ailing, the 1988 law was expanded on productions with location shootings “mostly in Europe and especially in Luxembourg”, meaning that the country wanted to live up to its reputation as a tax haven in the film sector, too.

Actually the Luxembourgian film history can indeed be seen as a transnational business relationship. SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE (2000) was a Luxembourgian co-production, which are much more numerous than the “purely” Luxembourgian films – and was able to invite Hollywood stars like John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe for a trip to the duchy. Also, a Venice backdrop constructed by the production company Delux was used by Peter Webber for his historical drama GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (2003).

The domestic film culture meanwhile is still shaken from the collapse of 2007: Of the former three film festival only one survived the crash, the “Diractors” meeting in the capital. There are two institutions currently working towards a way onto the future: At one side there is the film society “Filmreaktor” representing the interests of young and independent filmmakers. At the other end of the spectrum there's the award ceremony for the „Lëtzebuerger Filmpräis“ cementing the status quo every two years. The best feature film in 2009 HOUSE OF BOYS, a homosexual drama set in the 1980s has proven one thing: That dedicated filmmaking is possible in Luxembourg without flirting with big names from overseas.

Links

• en.filmfund.lu
• www.diractorscut.com
• www.filmreakter.lu
• filmprais.blogspot.com

• IN THE SHELTER (L 2009. Neshvad Cyrus)