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The cast from Lux prize contender Girlhood
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Every year in Karlovy Vary the European Parliament announces the contenders for the LUX prize which is designed to celebrate “the richness, diversity and excellence of European cinema.”
This year’s crop includes no less than five features that deal with the challenges faced by young people in Europe. The films are Celine Sciamma’s Girlhood (Bande de filles) from France; The Wonders (Le Meraviglie) by Alice Rohrwacher from Italy; Class Enemy (Razredni Sovraznik) by Rok Bicek from Slovenia; Xenia by Panos H Koutras from Greece, and Jaime Rosales’ Beautiful Youth (Hermosa Juventud) from Spain.
Two other titles in the selection had younger people in prominent roles: Kornel Mundruczo’s White God (Hungary, Germany, Sweden) and Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida (Poland, Denmark). The rest of the selection comprises Dietrich Brueggemann’s Stations Of The Cross (Germany), Sudabeh Mortezai’s Macondo (Austria) and Ruben Ostlund’s Force Majeure (Sweden, Denmark, France, Norway).
The audience special mention, voted online by the public, has been bestowed on Felix Van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown, followed by Valeria Golino’s Miele and Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant.
The official selection was assembled by a panel of industry insiders, and was revealed by Doris Pack, co-ordinator of the LUX Prize, Olga Sehnalova, member of the European Parliament, and Karel Och, Karlovy Vary artistic director.
A three-film short-list will be revealed in Rome at the end of July, and then will compete for the top prize. All three will be subtitled into 24 European languages and screened in all 28 member states of the European Union as part of the LUX Film Days.
The LUX Prize will be decided by members of the European Parliament, and will be awarded on December 17 in Strasbourg. The winning film will also be made available for the visually and hearing impaired.
