Need to know: Luxembourg production powerhouse Samsa was set up by Jani Thiltges and Claude Waringo in 1986. The original idea was to make their own films but they quickly shifted focus towards co-production. One of the first titles was Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s The Promise (1996). Its success helped establish the company as a major player in European co-production, albeit one from a very small country. Samsa was further strengthened by the launch of the Luxembourg tax shelter system in the late 1980s and by the creation the Council of Europe’s co-production fund Eurimages around the same time. Samsa focuses on director-driven fare, in particular international arthouse films with crossover potential, and also backs films from Luxembourgian directors. It has recently diversified into TV with Netflix crime series Capitani. The company has now been involved in more than 90 films, and looks to bring around 30% of the budget to projects it co-produces and to have a creative input. Its recent slate includes everything from Ari Folman’s animated feature Where Is Anne Frank to Alexander Nanau’s Oscar-nominated documentary Collective.
Key personnel: Jani Thiltges and Claude Waringo, founders and producers; Bernard Michaux, producer.
Incoming: Samsa has two films in official selection in Cannes this year: Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage and Emily Atef’s More Than Ever. Both play in Un Certain Regard and star Luxembourg’s Vicky Krieps. Currently in production is Chris Kraus’s 15 Jahre, sold by Wild Bunch. Samsa is also on board Joachim Lafosse’s Un Silence, due to shoot this summer.
Jani Thiltges says: “We want to keep up the quality of what we are doing and keep up with the changes in the market, which are enormous. Who would have thought that we would do television? Five years ago, we didn’t even think about it.”
Contact: lelia.di-luca@samsa.lu
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