Guy Daleiden and Françoise Lentz of Film Fund Luxembourg, along with animated film producers Stephan Roelants of Melusine Productions and Laurent Witz of Zeilt Productions, have travelled to the United Arab Emirates to participate in the 2nd edition of 'European Film Screenings'.

The festival is taking place from 21 to 31 October 2015 under the patronage of the Embassy of the Grand Duchy and in conjunction with Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The event has been organised in collaboration with the 'Lëtzebuerger Filmfond' and as part of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Luxembourg co-production 'Song of the Sea', winner of the '#1 Feature Film' in the People's Choice Awards at Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and the 'Grand Prize Feature Film' at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival, was selected to be screened for the opening of the festival alongside a special section dedicated to short films in Luxembourg.

The delegation led by Nicole Bintner, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the UAE and accompanied by Marc Scheer of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office, met with His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, in order to discuss developments in audiovisual production in their respective countries.

Director of Film Fund Luxembourg (FFL), Guy Daleiden, also gave a presentation of the Luxembourg audiovisual production sector to members of the 'Benelux Business Council' chaired by Vania Henry. In his presentation, Mr. Daleiden spoke of the diversity of the national economy, particularly with regards to the cultural and creative industries.

The trip also presented an opportunity for the delegation to become familiar with the audiovisual sector in the UAE during several meetings with, amongst others, officials of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi Film and TV Commission, counterparts of the Sanad Film Fund, the director of the Dubai Film Festival, as well as national distributors. The event was concluded with a tour of the production infrastructure and film set of Dubai Studio City.

 

Photo by Film Fund Luxembourg (L-R: Laurent Witz (Zeilt productions), Guy Daleiden (Film Fund Luxembourg), Nicole Bintner (Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in the UAE) and HH Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan)