LUX Award: three films shortlisted for the European Audience Film Award

“Congratulations to the teams behind the three films that were just nominated in Berlin for the LUX award! All the nominations are fantastic and all would be worthy winners. Each film is very different, yet each is of outstanding artistic quality and bears a clear social message that deserves to be heard throughout the EU and beyond”, said Sabine Verheyen (EPP, DE), chair of the EP Culture and Education committee, on Saturday evening.

She also invited all Europeans to watch the films and vote for them. “We want European citizens to be a part of the award, especially now that the sector has been so affected by the pandemic. For the European Parliament, LUX Award is an important contribution to promote European culture and common values, which define our identity and our way of life. Culture can touch the hearts and minds of people in ways that politics will never be able to”, she added.

Viewers can vote from 13 December 2020 to 11 April 2021

Another Round by Thomas Vinterberg, Corpus Christi by Jan Komasa, and Collective by Alexander Nanau are the films shortlisted to win the LUX Audience Award. EU viewers can now be part of the jury and help determine the winner by rating the films via the platform luxaward.eu, to be launched on 13 December. Voting ends on 11 April 2021.

The three nominated films will be subtitled in the 24 official EU languages. Screenings in EU cinemas will be promoted – insofar as present health conditions permit – and be supported to increase visibility in all member states and in the UK.

From 1 March 2021, MEPs will start to cast their votes via a dedicated internal platform. The winner will be announced in the European Parliament plenary sitting on 28 April 2021.

Discovering the films

Another Round – the Danish-Swedish-Dutch co-production directed by Thomas Vinterberg is the story of a group of high-school teachers who decide to follow the theory inspired by Norwegian psychologist Finn Skårderud who believes humans are born with a 0.05% alcohol deficit in their blood. The group of friends decide to experiment in order to explain this conundrum.

Corpus Christi – the Polish-French co-production directed by Jan Komasa is the story a 20-year-old man who experiences a spiritual calling while detained in a youth centre. Due to his criminal record, he cannot become a priest. However, he accidentally takes over a local parish and brings the local community a novel approach to life and religion.

Collective – Romanian-Luxembourg co-production directed by Alexander Nanau is the gripping story of the joint efforts of doctors, government officials, and particularly investigative journalists who face corruption while uncovering a vast health-care fraud in Bucharest after a fire at the Colectiv night club.

Background

The winner of the LUX Audience Award – jointly awarded by Parliament and the European Film Academy and in partnership with the European Commission and the Europa Cinemas network – will be selected by MEPs and the audience (each accounting for 50% of the final decision).

The nominees will be screened across the EU during the LUX Film Days or LUX Audience Week until 11 April 2021. Due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, cinema screenings have been postponed to the spring.

The award strives to promote creativity and diversity in European cinema, by supporting films produced in Europe and helping them to overcome language and distribution barriers.