The British and Irish Film Festival Luxembourg returns this week for its 17th edition, bringing a new selection of films from across Britain and Ireland to Luxembourg screens.
Festival organiser Geoff Thompson joined the Sam Steen Show ahead of the opening to talk through this year's programme, which includes everything from comedy and drama to documentaries exploring Irish music, rewilding, and the impact of mass tourism.
"We bring over films, mainly feature films", Thompson explained. "We select them, we curate them."
The focus is primarily on contemporary productions from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with Luxembourg co-productions also welcomed into the programme. This autumn's edition features 12 feature films and six shorts.
And interest is already high. The opening night sold out ahead of the festival, with Thompson saying tickets for several other screenings were also moving quickly.
Among this year's films is 500 Miles, the story of two brothers who run away from their home in Sheffield and travel to Dingle to find their estranged grandfather.
Documentaries also have a significant place in the programme. Thompson noted that while documentary screenings don't always attract the festival's biggest audiences, those who do attend tend to rate them particularly highly.
One of this year's selections is Irish Atlantic Rainforest, following the effort to rewild an area of West Cork and restore some of the native rainforest that once covered parts of Ireland.
Another documentary, The Siege of Paradise, heads to Cinque Terre in north-west Italy to examine overtourism and its effects from a number of different perspectives.
"There's something there for everyone", Thompson said, adding: "Sometimes it's interesting that the numbers attending documentaries aren't that high. On the other hand, the audience scores for the documentaries are normally extremely high."
One of the films that particularly caught our attention was Ballroom Boom. Presented by U2 bassist Adam Clayton, the documentary looks back at the enormous Irish showband scene of the 1960s, when bands travelled between ballrooms across the country and huge crowds came out every week to hear them.
It's a story with a personal connection for Sam too, whose stepfather played in showbands around Donegal and Derry during the era.
"It was this huge music scene where enormous crowds would come out every week to see these showbands", Sam said during the interview.
The scene produced stars of its own and also provided an early musical education for artists who would later become internationally famous, including Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher.
Director Billy McGrath will also be in Luxembourg for the screening and will take part in a Q&A with the audience afterwards.
The festival isn't just about watching the films, with visiting filmmakers and performers adding to several screenings.
The programme includes Trad, directed by Lance Daly, who previously brought Black '47 to the festival. Daly and the film's lead actor are due to attend, while local musicians will also perform as part of the opening celebrations.
There will also be an evening dedicated to six short films, including the documentary made by the winner of the festival's previous Young Filmmakers Competition during a trip to Galway. The next edition of the competition will also be launched during the festival.
The programme then runs through to its closing screening, the romantic comedy Finding Emily.
Full programme information, film synopses, and trailers are available through the festival website, with tickets available through Luxembourg Ticket.
And we've got a little something extra for RTL Today Radio listeners. We're giving away tickets to see Ballroom Boom as part of this year's festival.
For your chance to win, answer this question: Which member of U2 presents Ballroom Boom?
Send your answer, along with your name and email address, to the RTL Today Radio WhatsApp on +352 621 52 5000. We'll contact the winners ahead of the screening.
You can also listen back to the full interview with Geoff Thompson on the Sam Steen Show below.
British and Irish Film Festival organiser Geoff Thompson joins the Sam Steen Show
