English director Mike Leigh, the living legend of European social realism, returned to Luxembourg after directing “Pirates of Penzance” at the Philharmonie Luxembourg Concert Hall in 2015 and joined the Luxembourg City Film Festival’s masterclass line-up. Awarded a Golden Leopard in Locarno for his first feature, “Bleak Moments” (1971), Mike Leigh waited 17 years before returning to his trademark social satire with “High Hopes” (1988). Shooting to fame with “Naked” (1993), Leigh was welcomed to the Croisette on multiple occasions, most notably winning Best Director for his iconic “Secrets & Lies” (1996). From “Another Year” (2010) to “Peterloo” (2018), his filmography is a true treat for cinema fans.

In this almost two-hour discussion with French author, journalist and film critic Michel Ciment (“Positif”), the English director gives insights into his career and talks about his approach to filmmaking: How he managed to pursue his own artistic vision without studio interference, the challenges of historical adaptations based on true events, his casting process and the resulting special relationship with actors, the role of improvisation in his directorial style, and what distinguishes his method from that of other directors. But he also delves into his family background, how being the son of first-generation British parents drove him to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and influences the way he chooses a subject matter and tackles a project to this day. And over the course of the discussion the idea for a new film about two elderly men alone on a stage is born.

Recorded in front of a live audience on 16th March 2019 at the Cinémathèque de la Ville de Luxembourg during the 9th Luxembourg City Film Festival.

Includes scenes taken from “Bleak Moments” (1971), “Naked (1993), “Secrets & Lies” (1996), “Topsy-Turvy” (1999) and “Vera Drake” (2004).