LUX Prize

16 July 2007

"If we had to do everything again, we would have to start with culture." Quote attributed to Jean Monnet

Building Europe calls for a commitment to cultural diversity and strong support for the creative arts. With this in mind the European Parliament has decided, for the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, to establish the LUX PRIZE - the European Parliament Film Prize.

The final selection of films chosen by the jury will be announced on 18th October 2007, at the end of the European Parliament Cultural Diversity Days. These Cultural Diversity Days will be held each autumn and, by their themes and the quality of the the artists taking part, will illustrate the major role the European Parliament can play in supporting culture. The prize will be officially awarded at the Strasbourg plenary session in mid-November.

LUX PRIZE - EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT FILM PRIZE

The purpose of the prize is to single out each year a film which illustrates European values and the diversity of our cultures or contributes to the debate on the process of European integration.

The prize winner will not receive a sum of money. Instead the winning film will be sub-titled into the 23 working languages of the Parliament to facilitate its distribution across the whole of the EU.

THREE COMPETING FILMS

Three full-length films from the last twelve months will be in competition following a selection process by a 17-member jury appointed by the Committee on Culture and Education and representing the cream of the film industry: producers, distributors, theatre directors, festival directors, film critics. The competing films will be screened several times from 1st to 18th October 2007 in Brussels, at the European Parliament, in a specially created cinema.

THE JURY: MEPS

All MEPs are invited to see the competing films. Only those MEPs who have seen all three films will be eligible to vote, and the Prize will be awarded to the film which receives the largest number of votes. Subject to space, the screenings will also be open to all film enthusiasts…

Further information about the prize and the Cultural Diversity Days can be found on the Parliament's homepage at www.europarl.europa.eu.

contact : epfilmprizelux@europarl.europa.eu