Representatives of the audiovisual production sector will be meeting this Friday morning at the Ciné Starlight in Dudelange. It’s an opportunity to take stock of the sector’s successes and challenges, and also to look ahead to what the Luxembourg film industry will look like by 2030.
Audiovisual production does not just involve producers; it refers to all the stages involved in creating an audiovisual product or work. Luxembourg has gradually established itself as a key player in European audiovisual production, thanks in particular to co-productions and its multilingualism.
In 2024, according to figures consolidated by statistician Philippe Robin, the audiovisual sector as a whole has 226 economic units (production, post-production, distribution, exploitation), 35% of which are individual companies.
In terms of employment, according to data from the national statistics bureau Statec, the audiovisual and multimedia sector employs around 598 people (direct jobs). But taking into account indirect and induced jobs, this figure reaches 1,259 jobs. Professionals are federated in several associations or organizations. Among the main ones is d’Filmakademie, dedicated to training and skills development in the fields of cinema and audiovisual. Its objective is to promote and support the film industry in Luxembourg. It offers training, workshops, and seminars for film professionals, as well as for people interested in audiovisual careers. This summer, it and 19 other film academies officially , which has 20,000 members.
Federations and associations
And almost every profession in the sector has its own federation: actors with Actors.lu, created in 2010, which has 177 members who speak a total of more than 55 languages. Ulpa brings together 15 audiovisual production companies active in Luxembourg in the fields of fiction, documentary, animation and virtual reality. Another association, Alpa/XR, also brings together seven producers of animation and immersive experiences.
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Technicians have also joined forces with Alta (more than 100 professionals in the development, production or post-production of audiovisual projects for cinema, television, animation, art galleries and online platforms) and directors-writers within Lars (around 50 members).
Flac, the federation of songwriters and composers, also has over 100 members. It is also pressing for greater recognition of the profession and status of composers, the creation of a centre or institute for research and creation of contemporary music to enable scientific research into technological innovation and musical creation, and greater diversity on national stages.
A success story for 30 years
Although Luxembourg does not have a very long tradition of filmmaking, it has developed considerably over the last thirty years. Since 2009, works produced or co-produced in Luxembourg have been nominated more than 5,000 times at festivals and have received more than 1,000 awards. On average, 45 audiovisual works are produced each year.
The sector generated a turnover of €69m in 2022, 57% of which was generated by production. The added value amounted to €53m.
In 2023, production costs amounted to €299m, 41% of which represented filming costs. The economic benefits represented €86m, or 29% of the total costs.
This article was originally published in .
Edited on 20 September at 13:50 with updated information.