As was the case with the previous years’ films in competition for the LUX Prize, these films are said to “speak to Europeans hearts and question our identities, forcing us to ask ourselves about our cultural and familial relations, and the rules under which we live.”
Filippos Tsitos, director of one of the film’s competing, Akadimia Platonos, explains: “Everybody agrees that the European Union is a good idea. The disagreements begin when one has to decide: who has the right to enter the Union and who hasn’t; who has the right to remain in the Union and who hasn’t; who is going to get help from the Union and who isn’t; which members of the Union should have more privileges than others. Discrimination hangs around these decisions. Tolerance is the beginning of the solution. And how an individual can tolerate his very own self is the subject of Akadimia Platonos. Winning the LUX Prize would be a recognition that the film deserves - but I will be honest: in these very difficult times for art house movie-making, and the much harder times Greece is experiencing, all help is welcome!”
The three competing films will be screened in the Venice Days’ premises on 10th and 11th September 2010 in the presence of the directors. In addition, the LUX Prize, Venice Days and Europa Cinemas have formed a partnership to invite twenty-seven young cinephiles to Venice – one from each of the member states of the European Union. They will attend the whole festival and deliver their opinions on the different films from their individual perspectives, whilst taking part in debates with Members of the European Parliament and film professionals.
“The LUX Prize was established in 2007 as a tangible symbol of the European Parliament’s commitment to the European film industry and its creative endeavours. Since then, the European Parliament LUX Prize has cast an annual spotlight on films which go to the very heart of the European public debate. Beyond the stories they tell, these films trigger questions for Europeans: the values they share or put into question, the project of building Europe, the way they address cross-border concerns −immigration, justice, solidarity, public freedoms or fundamental rights, for example. No matter which social issue it illustrates, each film serves as a glimpse of Europeans, their lives, their convictions and doubts - their quest for identity.”
As with previous winners — Auf der anderen Seite (2007), Le silence de Lorna (2008) and Welcome (2009 – pictured below) — the 2010 LUX Prize winning film will benefit from the financial support of the European Parliament making possible the subtitling of the film into all the twenty-three official languages of the European Union (EU), an adaptation of the original version for the visually or hearing-impaired, and the production of a 35 mm print per EU member state.
For more information, head here.
Akadimia Platonos
Die Fremde
Illégal
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