The European Parliament LUX Prize, commonly known as the LUX Prize or LUX Film Prize, was a prize given to a competing film by the European Parliament. Introduced in 2007, the prize is named after the Latin word for "light", lux.

LUX Prize
2007 logo. The trophy is inspired by-, and the underlying concept of the award is the Tower of Babel.
Awarded forExcellence in illustrating the universality of European values and the diversity of European culture
CountryCountries eligible for the European Commission Media Programme
Presented byEuropean Parliament
First awarded2007
Last awarded2019
Websiteluxprize.eu

The award was aimed at highlighting films which help to raise awareness of socio-political issues in Europe and to publicise and encourage distribution of European films in the European Union and throughout the world. Open to both fiction (narrative) and documentary films of feature length, entries were limited to films made within Europe and demonstrating European values and/or showcasing European culture. The finalists gained both publicity and enhanced prospects for worldwide distribution through having their films subtitled into the official 24 European languages as part of the award process.

The prize was awarded by the European Parliament and voting was based on voting by Members of the European Parliament. In 2020, it was replaced by the LUX Audience Award, presented alongside the European Film Academy in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas, with audience voting by the public counting for 50 per cent of the vote.

History

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Creation and aims

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The award was created in 2007.[1][2] The name of the prize originates from the Latin word for "light", lux,[3] with the award named in honour of the Lumière Brothers, who invented cinematography.[4] The word origin is related to the aim of the award, which is to illuminate public debate on European integration and to facilitate the diffusion of European films in the European Union".[3]

The symbol of the LUX Prize is the Tower of Babel, and the trophy reflects the shape of a tower. It is "a symbol of history where linguistic and cultural diversity join forces".[4] It was designed by Belgian artist Jocelyne Coster.[2]

The European Parliament believes that films help to instigate debate and raise awareness of socio-political issues in Europe, especially with regard to European integration, thus helping to forge and celebrate a stronger European identity and values. The prize also helps to publicise and encourage distribution of European films in the European Union and throughout the world, which otherwise may not get widespread distribution owing to language and other barriers.[5]

Earlier editions

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For the first edition of the prize, three films were shortlisted by a 17-member panel, comprising mainly people in the film industry,[2] who viewed 800 feature films produced in Europe in the year from May 2006 to May 2007. The first LUX Prize was awarded to Turkish-born German director Fatih Akin, for his film The Edge of Heaven.[1][5]

The jury members were appointed by the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education, and it was planned that a third of the jury would be rotated each year. All members of the European Parliament were able to watch the final three films, but only those who have seen all three qualify for voting rights.[3]

The producers of the ten shortlisted films are required to provide digital copies in the form of DVDs, Vimeo link, or OpenDCP for the members of the European Parliament. In 2015, the shortlisted Son of Saul was disqualified when the production team refused to provide this, fearing that the film copies would be pirated.[6]

In 2019, there were 21 members on the judging panel. The selection of the first 10 films was announced in March of that year, with the final three selected in July and the winner announced in Strasbourg on 27 November.[4]

2020 changes

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Partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, changes were announced to the name, the selection process and the timetabling of the LUX Award in September 2020. The European Parliament and the European Film Academy would be responsible for the management of the award, in partnership with the European Commission and the Europa Cinemas network. The name was changed to LUX – the European Audience Film Award by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, with the abbreviated version LUX European Audience Film Award.[7] The new format was announced by Sabine Verheyen, chair of the Culture Committee, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.[8]

There would henceforth be five nominees competing for the award, which would all be subtitled in 24 European languages, but due to the impact of the pandemic on the film industry, only three would be nominated for the first edition of the new format. The jury would remain similar, but the winner would be selected jointly by MEPs and the public, with each contributing 50 per cent towards the final vote.[7]

Award process

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Selection criteria

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As of 2019, films have to meet following eligibility criteria:[4]

  • Fiction or documentary films (may be animated)
  • Minimum length of 60 minutes
  • Produced or co-produced in a European Union country or in Iceland, Norway, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro, under the Creative Europe/Media Programme.
  • Illustrates the universality of European values and the diversity of European culture, and raise awareness of social or political issues
  • Released for the first time between May 1 of the previous year and June 1 of the current year. For the 2021 edition, the release period was expanded, from 1 June 2019 until 12 September 2020, including online releases.[9]

Preselection

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Ten films are shortlisted, and three of these are selected for the final competition. After three (five after 2021[7]) films have been selected from the 10 preselected films, these films are subtitled into the 24 official EU languages, and they are screened in all EU countries during the "LUX Film Days".[4] In the 2020 edition, no preselection was hold, announcing directly the three nominated films.

2020 selection and voting timetable

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In 2020, the European Film Awards Ceremony was supposed to take place in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 12 December. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Ceremony took place the scheduled day in a virtual format broadcast and streamed from the European Film Academy site in Berlin, where the three nominated films were announced. The three nominated films were chosen by a selection panel[10] consisting of 21 people: Mike Downey (Ireland), Honorary President of the LUX European Audience Film Award, Chairman of the European Film Academy; Jürgen Biesing (Germany), Producer, European Film Awards; Peter Bognar (Hungary), Distributor, Festival Programmer; Mihai Christian Chirilov (Romania), Film Critic, artistic director of TIFF; Ditte Daugbjerg Chistensen (Denmark), Øst for Paradis Cinema, Managing director & Head of distribution; José Luis Cienfuegos (Spain), Director of the Sevilla European Film Festival; Fatima Djoumer, International relations and events administrator, Europa Cinéma; Juliette Duret (Belgium), Head of Cinema, BOZAR; Jakub Duszynski (Poland), Distributor, GUTEK Film, Co-president Europa Distribution; Giorgio Gosetti (Italy), artistic director of Venice Days Film Festival; Vanessa Henneman (Netherlands), Talent manager/agent; Mathilde Henrot (France), Founder of Festival Scope; Matthias Holz (Sweden), Cinema exhibitor and Programming Manager; Yorgos Krassakopoulos (Greece), Head of Programming Thessaloniki Film Festival, Film Critic; Christophe Leparc (France), Secretary General of Director's Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival; Susan Newman-Baudais (Ireland), Eurimages. Head of Programme – Co-production; Karel Och (Czech Republic), Film Critic and artistic director of Karlovy Vary Film Festival; Mira Stavela (Bulgaria), Managing Director Sofia IFF; Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia), Film Director; Mantė Valiūnaitė (Lithuania), artistic director, Vilnius Film Festival; Maria Silvia Gatta (Italy), Observer.

The nominated films, after subtitling in the 24 official languages, are being screened across Europe until May 2021.[7] Between 10 and 16 May 2021 the "LUX Audience Week" takes place, with simultaneous screenings and debates organised across the continent.[8] The public is able to vote by ranking the nominated films, awarding them one to five stars, and the totals will represent 50 per cent of the vote, with the other 50 per cent going to the MEPs.[7] Voting period closes on 23 May 2021.

The winning film will be announced at the LUX Award Ceremony on 9 June 2021,[11] during a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, as in previous editions. The Parliament President presents the award to the laureate in front of the MEPs and representatives from the other films in competition.[7]

2020 Voting process

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The audience can cast their votes for all three nominated films from 13 December 2020 until 23 May 2021 on the Lux award website.[12] Audiences will be able to rate each film via this website. Members of the European Parliament will also vote, from March until 23 May 2021 via a dedicated voting page of the institution. Ratings can be changed an unlimited number of times until the voting closes. The last vote counts.

The final ranking will be determined by combining the public vote and the vote by the Members of the European Parliament, with each group weighing 50%.

Pre-2020 timetable and process

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Date Place Result Notes
February Selection starts
June–July Karlovy Vary International Film Festival,
Karlovy Vary,
the Czech Republic
Launch of the Selection process Public announcement of the 10-LUX films of the Official Selection
September Rome,
Italy
Selection of the 3 shortlist films Announcement of the 3 films in the Official Competition
September Venice Film Festival,
Venice,
Italy
Special screenings Venice Days
September–November LUX Film Days,
cities across European Union member states, candidates, European Economic Area, Switzerland
Special screenings Launched in 2012, the project aims to bring the screenings of the 3 finalists of the award. It is aired mainly in the cinemas that are part of the Europa Cinemas film theatre networks. For most countries, the screenings are also national premieres. Screenings take place also in cooperation with film festivals:
Thessaloniki International Film Festival,
Stockholm International Film Festival,
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival,
• Sevilla Film Festival,
Sofia International Film Festival,
Zagreb Film Festival.
November internet final voting Only Members of the European Parliament, who have seen all three films during the screenings or extra muros, are entitled to vote. Voting takes place electronically via the intranet site at the Parliament. The film which gains the highest number of votes is the winner.
November–December the Seat of the European Parliament,
Strasbourg,
France
the formal, official sitting session of parliament, Selection of the winner LUX Prize Award Ceremony and seminar for journalists

Winners and nominees

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Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

2000s

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Year Result English title Original title Director Nationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
Language Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
European Film Awards
Best Film
2007 Winner The Edge of Heaven Auf der anderen Seite Fatih Akın   Germany German, Turkish, English submission nomination
Top-3 Shortlist 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile Cristian Mungiu   Romania Romanian submission won
Belle Toujours Manoel de Oliveira   Portugal French
Selection Das Fräulein Andrea Štaka   Switzerland German, Swiss German dialect, Serbo-Croatian
Kalinovsky Square Ploshcha Jury Chaščavacki   Belarus Russian, Belarusian, English (subtitles)
It Happened Just Before Kurz davor ist es passiert Anja Salomonowitz   Austria German
Iska's Journey Iszka utazása Csaba Bollók   Hungary Hungarian, Romanian
California Dreamin' California Dreamin' (nesfârșit) Cristian Nemescu   Romania Romanian, English
2008 Winner Lorna's Silence Le Silence de Lorna Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne   Belgium French, Italian, German
Top-3 Shortlist Delta Kornél Mundruczó   Hungary Hungarian
Citizen Havel Občan Havel Miroslav Janek and Pavel Koutecký   Czech Republic Czech
Selection Revanche Götz Spielmann   Austria German, Russian
The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner Светът е голям и спасение дебне отвсякъде Stephan Komandarev   Bulgaria Bulgarian, German, Italian, Slovenian
Cloud 9 Wolke Neun Andreas Dresen   Germany German
Tricks Sztuczki Andrzej Jakimowski   Poland Polish
Autumn Ball Sügisball Veiko Õunpuu   Estonia Estonian
Worlds Apart To verdener Niels Arden Oplev   Denmark Danish
The rest of the night Il Resto della notte Francesco Munzi   Italy Italian, Romanian
2009 Winner Welcome Philippe Lioret   France French, English, Kurdish, Turkish
Top-3 Shortlist Eastern Plays Източни пиеси Kamen Kalev   Bulgaria Bulgarian
Storm Sturm Hans-Christian Schmid   Germany English, German, Bosnian, Serbian
Selection Pandora's Box Pandora'nın Kutusu Yeşim Ustaoğlu   Turkey Turkish
35 Shots of Rum 35 Rhums Claire Denis   France French, German
Ander Roberto Castón   Spain Basque, Spanish
North Nord Rune Denstad Langlo   Norway Norwegian
Katalin Varga Peter Strickland   United Kingdom Hungarian, Romanian
Lost Persons Area Caroline Strubbe   Belgium English, Dutch, Hungarian
For a Moment, Freedom Ein Augenblick Freiheit Francesco Munzi   Austria English, Persian, Turkish

2010s

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Year Result English title Original title Director Nationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
Language Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
European Film Awards
Best Film
2010 Winner When We Leave Die Fremde Feo Aladag   Austria [13] German, Turkish
Top-3 Shortlist Akadimia Platonos Ακαδημία Πλάτωνος Filippos Tsitos   Greece Greek, Albanian, German
Illégal Olivier Masset-Depasse   Belgium [14] French
Selection Medal of Honor Medalia de onoare Calin Peter Netzer   Romania Romanian
The Mouth of the Wolf La bocca del lupo Pietro Marcello   Italy Italian
Lourdes Jessica Hausner   Austria French
I Am Love Io sono l'amore Luca Guadagnino   Italy Italian
Bibliothèque Pascal Szabolcs Hajdu   Hungary Romanian, English, Hungarian
R Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer   Denmark Danish, Arabic
Eastern Drift Eurazijos aborigenas Šarūnas Bartas   Lithuania French, Lithuanian, Russian
2011 Winner The Snows of Kilimanjaro Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro Robert Guédiguian   France French
Top-3 Shortlist Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangari   Greece Greek
Play Ruben Östlund   Sweden Swedish
Selection Mysteries of Lisbon Mistérios de Lisboa Raúl Ruiz   Portugal Portuguese, French, English
Le Havre Aki Kaurismäki   Finland French
The Turin Horse A torinói ló Béla Tarr   Hungary Hungarian
Morgen Marian Crişan   Romania Romanian, Hungarian, Turkish
Essential Killing Jerzy Skolimowski   Poland English, Polish, Arabic
We Have a Pope Habemus Papam Nanni Moretti   Italy Italian
Pina Wim Wenders   Germany German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Korean, Spanish
2012 Winner Shun Li and the Poet Io sono Li Andrea Segre   Italy Italian, Mandarin
Top-3 Shortlist Just the Wind Csak a szél Benedek Fliegauf   Hungary
Tabu Miguel Gomes   Portugal
Selection Caesar Must Die Cesare deve morire Vittorio Taviani, Paolo Taviani   Italy nomination
Children of Sarajevo Djeca Aida Begić   Bosnia and Herzegovina
Barbara Christian Petzold   Germany submission nomination
Crulic: The Path to Beyond Crulic - Drumul spre dincolo Anca Damian   Romania
Louise Wimmer Cyril Mennegun   France
Sister L'Enfant d'en haut Ursula Meier   France
Our Children À perdre la raison Joachim Lafosse   Belgium
2013 Winner The Broken Circle Breakdown Felix Van Groeningen   Belgium Dutch nomination nomination
Top-3 Shortlist Miele Valeria Golino   Italy
The Selfish Giant Clio Barnard   United Kingdom
Selection Fortress Pevnost Lukáš Kokeš, Klára Tasovská   Czech Republic
A Coffee in Berlin Oh Boy! Jan Ole Gerster   Germany nomination
The Plague La Plaga Neus Ballús   Spain
The Great Beauty La grande bellezza Paolo Sorrentino   Italy
Circles Кругови Srdan Golubovic   Serbia
In Bloom გრძელი ნათელი დღეები Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß   Georgia   Germany
Eat Sleep Die Äta sova dö Gabriela Pichler   Sweden
2014 Winner Ida Paweł Pawlikowski   Poland Polish, French, Latin won won
Top-3 Shortlist Class Enemy Razredni sovražnik Rok Biček   Slovenia
Girlhood Bande de filles Céline Sciamma   France
Selection White God Fehér isten Kornél Mundruczó   Hungary
Beautiful Youth Hermosa juventud Jaime Rosales   Spain
Stations of the Cross Kreuzweg Dietrich Brüggemann   Germany
The Wonders Le meraviglie Alice Rohrwacher   Italy
Macondo Sudabeh Mortezai   Austria
Force Majeure Turist Ruben Östlund   Sweden
Xenia Panos H. Koutras   Greece
2015 Winner Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven   Turkey Turkish nomination nomination
Top-3 Shortlist Mediterranea Jonas Carpignano   Italy
The Lesson Урок Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov   Bulgaria
Selection Rams Hrútar Grímur Hákonarson   Iceland
45 Years Andrew Haigh   United Kingdom
A Perfect Day Un día perfecto Fernando León de Aranoa   Spain
The Measure of a Man La Loi du marché Stéphane Brizé   France
Son of Saul Saul fia László Nemes   Hungary German, Hungarian, Polish, Yiddish, Russian, Slovak, Czech, Greek won
Toto and His Sisters Toto si surorile lui Alexander Nanau   Romania
The High Sun Zvizdan Dalibor Matanić   Croatia
2016 Winner Toni Erdmann Maren Ade   Germany [15] German, English, Romanian won won
Top-3 Shortlist As I Open My Eyes À Peine J'Ouvre Les Yeux Leyla Bouzid   Tunisia
My Life as a Courgette Ma Vie de Courgette Claude Barras   Switzerland
Selection A War Krigen Tobias Lindholm   Denmark
Things to Come L'Avenir Mia Hansen-Løve   France
Sieranevada Cristi Puiu   Romania
Like Crazy La pazza gioia Paolo Virzi   Italy
A Syrian Love Story Sean McAllister   United Kingdom
Letters from War Cartas da Guerra Ivo Ferreira   Portugal
Suntan Argyris Papadimitropoulos   Greece
2017 Winner Sami Blood Sameblod Amanda Kernell   Sweden[16] Swedish, South Sami
Top-3 Shortlist BPM (Beats per Minute) 120 battements par minute Robin Campillo   France French
Western Valeska Grisebach   Germany German, Bulgarian
Selection A Ciambra Jonas Carpignano   Italy Italian
Glory Слава Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov   Bulgaria Bulgarian
Heartstone Hjartasteinn Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson   Iceland Icelandic
King of the Belgians Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth   Belgium   United States English, Flemish, French, Bulgarian
Summer 1993 Estiu 1993 Carla Simón   Spain Catalan
The Last Family Ostatnia rodzina Jan P. Matuszynski   Poland Polish
The Other Side of Hope Toivon tuolla puolen Aki Kaurismäki   Finland Finnish, English, Arabic
2018 Winner Woman at War Kona fer í stríð Benedikt Erlingsson   Iceland Icelandic, Spanish, English, Ukrainian submission
Top-3 Shortlist The Other Side of Everything Druga strana svega Mila Turajlić   Serbia
Styx Wolfgang Fischer   Austria
Selection Border Gräns Ali Abbasi   Denmark Swedish submission nomination
Girl Lukas Dhont   Belgium
Mug Twarz Małgorzata Szumowska   Poland Polish
Utøya: July 22 Utøya 22. juli Erik Poppe   Norway Norwegian
Donbass Донбас Sergei Loznitsa   Ukraine Russian, Ukrainian submission
Happy as Lazzaro Lazzaro felice Alice Rohrwacher   Italy Italian nomination
The Silence of Others El silencio de otros Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar   Spain   United States
2019 Winner God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija Gospod postoi, imeto i' e Petrunija Teona Strugar Mitevska   North Macedonia Macedonian
Top-3 Shortlist The Realm El reino Rodrigo Sorogoyen   Spain Spanish
Cold Case Hammarskjöld Mads Brügger   Denmark
Selection Clergy Kler Wojciech Smarzowski   Poland Polish
Her Job I douleia tis Nikos Labôt   France
Honeyland Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov   North Macedonia Macedonian, Turkish, Bosnian submission
Invisibles Les invisibles Louis-Julien Petit   France French
Ray & Liz Richard Billingham   United Kingdom English
System Crasher Systemsprenger Nora Fingscheidt   Germany German nomination
The Man Who Surprised Everyone Человек, который удивил всех Natasha Merkulova, Aleksey Chupov   Russia Russian

2020s

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Year Result English title Original title Director Nationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
Language Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
European Film Awards
Best Film
2021 Winner Collective Colectiv Alexander Nanau   Romania Romanian nomination won (Best Documentary Film)
Nomination Another Round Druk Thomas Vinterberg   Denmark Danish won won
Corpus Christi Boże Ciało Jan Komasa   Poland Polish nomination nomination
2022 Winner Quo Vadis, Aida? Jasmila Žbanić   Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian, English, Serbian, Dutch
Nomination Flee Flugt Jonas Poher Rasmussen   Denmark Danish, Dari, Russian
Great Freedom Große Freiheit Sebastian Meise   Austria German
2023 Winner Close Lukas Dhont   Belgium French, Dutch
Nomination Alcarràs Carla Simón   Spain Catalan
Nomination Burning Days Kurak Günler Emin Alper   Turkey Turkish
Nomination Triangle of Sadness Ruben Östlund   Sweden English
Nomination Will-o'-the-Wisp Fogo-Fátuo João Pedro Rodrigues   Portugal Portuguese
2024 Winner The Teachers' Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer İlker Çatak   Germany German, Turkish, Polish, English
Nomination 20,000 Species of Bees 20.000 especies de abejas Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren   Spain Spanish, Basque, French
Nomination Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki   Finland Finnish
Nomination On the Adamant Sur l'Adamant Nicolas Philibert   France French
Nomination Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Savvusanna sõsarad Anna Hints   Estonia Estonian, Seto, Võro

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Feuillère, Anne (24 October 2007). "First LUX Prize goes to Fatih Akin". Cineuropa. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "And the LUX Prize for European cinema goes to... "Auf der anderen Seite"". European Parliament. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Karpati, Gyorgy (23 June 2008). "Lux Prize nominations: two films from Eastern Europe in the finale". FilmNewEurope.com. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "IATE Term of the Week: LUX Prize". Terminology Coordination Unit. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Why and what". LUX Award. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  6. ^ Varga Ferenc (24 July 2015). "Deutsch Tamás sem nézheti meg laptopon a Saul fiát". Origo.
  7. ^ a b c d e f European Union (9 September 2020). "LUX prize will be awarded jointly by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy". The European Sting. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b "#LUXAward - Audiences and MEPs to choose the winning film". EUReporter. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. ^ Selection process | LUX Audience Award (luxaward.eu)
  10. ^ LUX Selection panel | LUX Audience Award
  11. ^ Timeline and voting process | LUX Audience Award
  12. ^ Homepage | LUX Audience Award
  13. ^ European Parliament - News - Parliament's 2010 LUX Cinema Prize goes to "Die Fremde" Archived 2010-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ European Parliament - News - 2010 LUX Prize finalists Archived 2015-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ European Parliament - News - “Toni Erdmann” - winner of the 10th LUX Film Prize
  16. ^ European Parliament - News - The LUX Prize goes to Sámi Blood

Further reading

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