Luxembourg film company Tarantula has been writing success story for 30 years

“It looked extremely complicated, almost impossible. And yet we tried. But we were probably also very naive.  » When Donato Rotunno looks back on the early days of his film company Tarantula, which he founded in Luxembourg 30 years ago, the eyes of the 58-year-old producer and director shine.

This man lives for film art and his heart project, his film company – this becomes clear in the first minutes of the conversation with the « Luxembourg word ». As part of this year's Luxfilm Festival, Tarantula celebrates its 30th anniversary. « 30 years when I hear that, » says Rotunno with a laugh when we meet him in his office in Bonneweg. « Where did this time go? »

When he founded his production company in 1995 – just a year later, the Belgian offshoot Tarantula Belgique was created – the film scene was still a completely different world. « We almost started with nothing, there was practically no film industry or at least no organized, » emphasizes Donato Rotunno. « But throughout Europe, the cinema world was different – both in terms of production and the mindset. »

Today there are more institutions, more regulations and other support options. “Everything is more structured. At that time, however, there was even more space to try things out and experiment around. You didn't always have to know where exactly a project should go. Today you have to show that this is not just an attempt, but you have to present concrete plans. « 

No start without risks

Rotunno underlines that he would never say that it was better in the past. “It is simply not comparable. The world is constantly developing – and with it the film industry. ” But Tarantula had just been created out of exactly that way of thinking: just try it.

Because the director and producer had not yet had a network at the time, after all, Rotunno had only completed the film school in Louvain-la-Neuve a few years earlier and gained around three years of experience as an assistant. And founding a production company also means taking risks.

“Especially at the beginning, this not only means a lot and hard work – you don't write down your hours. But you also have to be able to live with the fact that you are not really paid for the first few years. But if you are done for this profession, then you accept that. « 

But the joy of filmmaking, both as a director and as a producer, has moved Donato Rotunno to found Tarantula and not give up.

With the first co -production according to Cannes

The first long feature film that Rotunno has worn as a producer is entitled « Une Part Du Ciel » by the Belgian director and screenwriter Bénédicte Liénard. It was the first co-production of Tarantula-and in 2002 it made it into the competition of the « Un Certain Regard » series of the Cannes Film Festival.

Of course, this was initially overwhelming. « If you don't know anything about it, do not know how the industry and these festivals work, it is like another planet at the beginning, » said Donato Rotunno. “If you were represented with a production at such a festival, then you want to hold this level. And I would say that we have succeeded in doing this in the past 20 years. ”

Think of « Holly » (2023) or « Blanquita » (2022), which ran in competition at the Venice Film Festival or in the « Orrizonti » side series, « Vicea Le Feu » (2019), which was awarded the prize of the jury, or « Frères d'Arfil » (2005), which in Locarno received for the best long feature film.

Donato Rotunno himself is regularly behind the camera as a director – Finally for his documentary « La Fourchette à Gauche » (2024). So far, he has realized over 60 films as a producer.

Socially and politically committed cinema as a guideline

To date, the producer and director has not deviated from his editorial line. The films that he produces and/or which he directs are socially or politically committed. They are author films. “When I read a script and I can't do anything with it, it is not a project for Tarantula. That can still be a very good film that records a lot of money, but if it does not match the guideline of our film company, we don't do the projects either. ”

Donato Rotunno is firmly convinced that films can change society. This already starts when working together on a project.

“Before a production comes into cinemas, a whole team tries to do something that is actually only in the director's head. And in this work you grow beyond yourself. If the finished film is then presented to an audience, it also processes these pictures. That does something with people. « 

When asked what the most beautiful moments in the 30 years of Tarantula, Rotunno replies with a smile: « The moments when I thought: You survived! » After all, there were not only heights, but also depths in the three decades: financial problems, partners who have jumped off, inconvenience with others on the set. “The list is long. But these problems and above all the solving of it build you up too. « 

But of course the most remarkable moments are, among other things, when a finished project is presented for the first time in a full hall at a film festival. « It's just magical. »