Luxembourg had much to celebrate on Saturday evening as the films Oto’s Planet and Ito Meikyu secured coveted awards at the 81st edition of Venice Film Festival.
The film Oto's Planet by Gwenale François, a predominately Luxembourgish production by Skill Lab (Julien Becker) in association with Quebec and France, won the Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize.
This interactive VR story follows the peaceful life of Oto and his pet Skippy on a small planet, disrupted by the arrival of Exo, a cosmonaut whose spaceship crashes there. As Exo lays claim to part of the planet, the story follows Oto and Exo's struggles to communicate and coexist on this planet together.
Ito Meikyu by Boris Labbé, a Les Films Fauves (Gilles Chanial and Govinda Van Maele) co-production with France, was honoured with the Venice Immersive Grand Prize by the Venice immersive jury, chaired by Celine Daemen and comprised of Marion Burger and Adriaan Lokman.
According to Boris Labbé: "Ito Meikyū is a virtual reality experience that develops around references from Japanese art history and literature and unfolds as a large sensory fresco with strong emotional potential. A heterogeneous set of drawn, animated and sound scenes are taken from digital material; they recreate a kind of subjective world (inner and outer) in the form of a labyrinth composed of fractal architectures, inhabited by plants, objects, animals, men, women, motifs and calligraphy. The virtual wandering space allows us to access different scenes based on the randomness of our choices: a kind of hide-and-seek game with the universe at the centre of which we are the omniscient spectator."
Press release
The Roude Léiw ("Red Lion" in Luxembourgish) roars at the Venice Film Festival: the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg wins 2 prizes for its immersive works!
Press release by : Film Fund Luxembourg
At the 81st Venice Film Festival, two Luxembourgish productions works stood out from the five immersive films in competition, winning prestigious awards: an exceptional achievement for Luxembourg, illustrating Luxembourg's talent and influence on the international artistic scene.
Oto’s Planet by Gwenael François, a majority Luxembourgish production by Skill Lab (Julien Becker) in association with Quebec and France, won the Venice Immersive Special Jury Prize.
Ito Meikyu by Boris Labbé, a Les Films Fauves (Gilles Chanial and Govinda Van Maele) co-production with France, won the Venice Immersive Grand Prize.
Prime Minister Luc Frieden is "proud of these two wonderful awards, which showcase the creativity and innovation of our artists, putting Luxembourg on the map in the world of immersive art. These awards are the culmination of relentless efforts and vision, and symbolise our country's ongoing commitment to cultural and technological excellence. Congratulations to the teams who have flown our nation's colours so high."
Minister for Culture Eric Thill, also warmly welcomed this success: "The two prizes won at Venice in the Venice Immersive category mark a historic milestone for the Luxembourgish cultural scene. They not only reflect our artists' cutting-edge work in immersive art but also the strategic support Luxembourg has provided to contemporary arts and digital technology. This success cements our position as a leader of cultural innovation. I warmly thank and congratulate the creators for this important recognition of their talent and work."
Guy Daleiden, Director of the Film Fund Luxembourg, also relished the moment: An exceptional festival for Luxembourg's film industry, with Luxembourg in the limelight with six nominations and two awards. This is a remarkable achievement for our small country, which also reflects the cultural diversity and vitality of our audiovisual sector. As Director of the Film Fund Luxembourg, I am particularly touched by this recognition. I am proud of the incredible creativity and imagination of our filmmakers."
