From Luxembourg to Palm Springs: Roxanne Peguet on her film Mia Mio

While her previous projects Nucléaire (2022) and Phoenix (2023) gained some attention, her most recent film, Mia Mio, which premiered earlier this year at Lux Film Fest, is shining across queer film festivals in the US.

Mia Mio is a cathartic depiction of self-discovery. "It's about Mia, who, with the help of her best friends, makes the decision, basically in one evening, to become Mio", says Peguet. "Her best friend, also plays a role, kind of like an angel who helps and guides her to make that first decision", she continues.

Queer thematics have been a driving force throughout her work, and Mia Mio is no exception. At its core, the short film is a touching portrayal of queer comradery and the intricacies of transitioning. For Peguet, it's important to give viewers something they can take with them, a way to expose audiences to realities they might not otherwise encounter.

"The main reason why I always used to go, and still go, to the cinema is simply to feel something, to experience strong emotions that you just don't necessarily get in everyday life."

"It's about sharing stories of people you don't necessarily see in everyday life, like Mia Mio", she says, underlining that while some might be part of more queer and woke scenes, many others aren't. She adds: "We know lots of people like that, but not my neighbour, you know, or my parents, or classmates from high school."

Luxembourgish representation across the US

This summer, Mia Mio was shown, among others, at the San Francisco Queer Film Fest and the New York East Village Queer Film Festival, continuing its stride into autumn with screenings later this month at the Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Despite growing attention towards her work, Peguet isn't planning on attending the festivals herself, "Right now, unfortunately, I can't – you know, New York, San Francisco, I'd absolutely love that", she says. "But first of all, I don't like traveling alone, so I'd have to find someone to do it all with me. And I just don't have the money to do everything."

Even if the circumstances aligned, she adds, "I don't really know if this is exactly the perfect time to fly to America."

Small but mighty

When it comes to Luxembourg and its film scene, Peguet underlines that there's a certain privilege. "You have much quicker access to funding to make films", she says, comparing it to the Belgian and French film landscapes. And while for her the privilege of a small industry extends into being able to quickly put together a team for a project, its size can also go the other way "because the industry is so small, if you mess up once, everyone finds out."

While Peguet continues to direct and write, she admits that living off film-making itself is not yet possible. "As long as you're not making a long feature film, just a regular-length film or a series, it's tough. You simply can't live off of it", she says, adding: "That means, up until now, I still work on the side."

In addition to developing her own projects, Peguet continues to work on other productions. "I haven’t shot anything for myself this year, but I’ve mainly been writing", she says. Among the projects she's involved in, are two fiction series, one of which is Troublemaker, an upcoming RTL production.

For Mia Mio, for example, she recounts working with a slightly bigger budget compared to previous projects, stating a budget of €30,000 euros for her last two shorts. "From that, I barely got a cent, you know, it all went into the film. You don't survive on that."

Emphasising that it's not about the money, Peguet explains: "It's also about proving yourself, it's like a business card. Ultimately, so that you can eventually live off of it."

While reflecting on the future, she voices concerns for the cultural scene as a whole: "The only hope is, I think, generally in the world, that culture won't suffer too much." She adds, "When there's a crisis, that means we're often the first ones who get the budgets cut."