The “Film Fund Luxembourg” is to be reformed. After much criticism of the questionable handling of taxpayers’ money, the fund is to become just one public institution among many. This will also impose more rules on the management staff around director Guy Daleiden.
The “Film Fund Luxembourg” likes to make a name for itself when there is glitz and glamour on the agenda. As was the case recently in Venice, when the Grand Ducal couple walked the red carpet of the Biennale together with Culture Minister Eric Thill (DP) to support the nominated Luxembourg co-productions. In the end, it was enough to win two prizes.
The negative press that the Film Fund received in 2018 and 2019 was not quite as glamorous. It involved allegations of mismanagement, conflicts of interest and the very prominent role of Guy Daleiden. The DP politician has been director of the Film Fund since 1999, and was vice president of his party from 2006 to 2013. He will be able to retire in October 2028, after almost 30 years in the same position.
Guy Daleiden’s power within the Film Fund, officially called the “Fonds National de Soutien à la Production audiovisuelle”, has been the subject of repeated criticism, including an audit in 2018 and a special report by the Court of Auditors in 2022.
The Court of Auditors’ investigation showed, among other things, that Guy Daleiden was able to make financial decisions on his own, that subsidies given to film production companies were almost never repaid and that the Film Fund did not seem to take the rules of public tenders too seriously. The “Financial Conduct of the Film Fund” was also discussed by Reporter.lu previously reported in a comprehensive research.
State-funded million-dollar deal
One of the main points of criticism: Through lax legislation and a “gentlemen’s agreement”, the Film Fund’s million-euro subsidies kept the major Luxembourg producers afloat. The circle of benefiting companies whose projects are financed with taxpayers’ money was very small for many years…
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