Synopsis
Shrouded in mystery, the film dives into the seldom-told story of Luxembourg’s emigration to Argentina — and of descendants who, generations later, went looking for a heritage they had been told was German.
In 1856 the first Luxembourgish families arrived in Argentina. They came to rural colonies like Esperanza, and in 1889 more than 500 emigrants made the perilous journey to San Antonio de Iraola. These pioneers faced broken promises, brutal conditions and isolation on the Argentine pampas. Over generations their language disappeared, their traditions faded, and their children’s children grew up believing they were German. The truth simply vanished.
Then came 2020. Locked down during the pandemic, descendants across Argentina began digging through family documents out of boredom and curiosity. What they found stunned them: they weren’t German. They were Luxembourgish — carrying a heritage they never knew existed. Communities formed across Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires; associations were founded; hundreds began reclaiming citizenship, not for a passport but to understand who they are.
Through intimate interviews, archival discoveries and restored photographs, Seguimos Siendo captures what happens when people uncover an identity hidden for over a century.
Production
Production began in 2023 with filming across Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires provinces. The project survived the obstacles of independent documentary work — a failed microphone that cost a key interview, a windshield shattered at highway speed on the pampas — and gained its defining collaborator when Astor Schiantarelli, hired to refilm lost material, discovered during production that he was himself a Luxembourg citizen by descent: an Argentine rediscovering his own roots while filming others doing the same. In 2024, footage from the 30th anniversary of the Luxembourg descendants’ association in Rosario, filmed in collaboration with RTL, aired on Luxembourgish television.
Screenings
- 23 November 2025 — Avant-première, Ciné Utopia, Luxembourg City: Luxembourg’s selection for the 10th European Arthouse Cinema Day. Over 150 people attended the screening and reception.
- 5 December 2025 — Second screening, Ciné Utopia, 18:30.
- February 2026 — National broadcast on RTL Télé Lëtzebuerg and RTL Play.
For screening requests, broadcast licensing or festival inquiries, contact Daniel.
Press about the film
- Luxembourg Times — “Documentary tells of little known hardships of Luxembourgers in 1880s Argentina” →
- Télécran / Luxemburger Wort — “Daniel Atz discovers Luxembourg roots in Argentina” →
- L’essentiel — “Documentary film sheds light on Luxembourgish heritage in Argentina” →
- RTL — “An overview of the Luxembourgish community in Argentina” →