Venice, September 11, 2009 - Eastern Plays, Sturm and Welcome Will Compete for the LUX
Today, under the auspices of the 66th Mostra, the European Parliament unveiled the three contending films for the LUX Prize 2009: Eastern Plays (Kamen Kalev), Sturm (Hans-Christian Schmid) and Welcome (Philippe Lioret) will compete for the film prize that has been awarded by the European Parliament to a European co-production for the last two years. .
Three Films at the Heart of the European Public Debate
Eastern Plays, Sturm and Welcome are part of the 2009 LUX Prize Official Selection unveiled on June 12 in partnership with the Brussels European Film Festival. These three films shed light on issues that are at the very heart of the European public debate: fundamental rights, public freedoms, justice, solidarity, immigration.
For Doris Pack, President of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, «there is no European conscience neither emotion nor European identity, if we don’t keep in mind the specific histories of each country, that is to say if we don’t watch European films in order to discover the soul of Europe».
According to Kamen Kalev, director of Eastern Plays, «Neonazi movements are not more present in Bulgaria than in other European countries. Intolerance is not exclusive to a single country, nor does it belong only to right-wing political forces. All politicians have the same responsibility -to help people outgrow their prejudices and learn to live together.»
Hans-Christian Schmid, director of Sturm, told that «one of the main reasons for me for making and also watching films in cinema is that they can tell an audience how diverse our lives in different countries and circumstances can be. I am very interested in seeing how individuals get along in diverging societies, when they are confronted with all kinds of social and economic changes. I like to be part of their - sometimes poetic and sometimes very real - lives and fates, and how they are told by filmmakers all over the world. Films need to travel and the LUX Prize can help a great deal to make these films be seen and understood all over Europe. What more could one ask for? »
Emmanuel Courcol, co-scriptwriter, with Philippe Lioret, of Welcome, reminded us «when a love story bumps into geography, human law and the absurd world order. The Amsterdam Treaty aimed at establishing an “area of freedom, security and justice” for Europeans. The selection of Welcome by the LUX Prize is an encouraging sign. We see this as a sign of support for the values which the film defends – commitment, solidarity and open-mindedness – against all attempts to go backwards.»
At last Fatih Akin and Klaus Maeck, respectively director and co-producer of Auf der anderen Seite, winner of the LUX Prize 2007, stated that “the LUX Prize is the most innovative award for European cinema. The sponsored subtitles enabling the laureate to present his film all around Europe is a great idea, and the election process draws attention to foreign productions from babylonic Europe which otherwise would have remained unknown. Hopefully the European Parliament will continue to promote our diverse and rich cinematographic culture through the LUX Prize».
LUX Prize 2009: Key Dates of the Competition
The LUX Prize 2009 laureate will be designated after the screening of the three competing films in the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels (Nov. 3-20) and the vote cast by all 736 Members of the European Parliament (Nov. 24). On November 25, the LUX Prize 2009 will be awarded in the European Parliament’s hemicycle in Strasbourg by Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament. Auf der anderen Seite (by Fatih Akin, 2007) and Le Silence de Lorna(Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, 2008) were the first two LUX Prize winners.
For the winner, the LUX Prize 2009 (lux is the Latin word for light), worth about 87,000 Euros, will finance subtitling in the EU’s 23 official languages, including the adaptation of the original version for visually- or hearing-impaired people, and, for each EU’s member state, the production of a 35-mm print or a contribution to the DVD release.
The LUX Prize is a tangible symbol of the support brought by the European Parliament to foster the circulation of films within the European Union.
More information :
- Press map 
[2 MB]
- Press release : EN / IT
[590 KB]
- Interviews
[1.1 MB]
The three contending films for the 2009 LUX Prize unveiled at the 66th Mostra in Venice - left to right: Klaus Maeck (Co-producer of Auf der Anderen Seite, Member of the LUX 2008 Films Selection Panel), Fatih Akin (Laureate of the LUX Prize 2007), Doris Pack (EP Culture & Education Committee Chair), Kamen Kalev (director of Eastern Plays), Britta Knöller (Producer of Sturm), Emmanuel Courcol (co-scriptor of Welcome).
@ Andrea Avezzù, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica 2009.
Press Conference, Palazzo del Casinò, Lido di Venezia - left to right: Kamen Kalev, Britta Knöller, Emmanuel Courcol, Klaus Maeck, Doris Pack, and Paolo Baratta, President of La Biennale di Venezia.
@ Andrea Avezzù, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica 2009.
EP Culture & Education Committee Chair Doris Pack with the representatives of the three contending films - left to right: Britta Knöller, Kamen Kalev, Doris Pack, Emmanuel Courcol.
@ Andrea Avezzù, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica 2009.
2007 LUX Prize Winner Fatih Akin interviewed in Venice
2007 LUX Prize Winner Fatih Akin : "LUX Prize is very important to transport culture into different languages in Europe"
Fatih Akin aswers to Cineuropa during the 66th Venice Film Festival.