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Lux Prize

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LUX Prize
2007 logo. The trophy is inspired by-, and the underlying concept of the award is the Tower of Babel.
Awarded forExcellence in illustrating the universality of European values and the diversity of European culture
CountryCountries eligible for the European Commission Media Programme
Presented byEuropean Parliament
First awarded2007
Last awarded2019
Websiteluxprize.eu

The European Parliament LUX Prize, commonly known as the LUX Prize or LUX Film Prize, was a prize given to a competing film by the European Parliament. Introduced in 2007, the prize is named after the Latin word for "light", lux.

The award was aimed at highlighting films which help to raise awareness of socio-political issues in Europe and to publicise and encourage distribution of European films in the European Union and throughout the world. Open to both fiction (narrative) and documentary films of feature length, entries were limited to films made within Europe and demonstrating European values and/or showcasing European culture. The finalists gained both publicity and enhanced prospects for worldwide distribution through having their films subtitled into the official 24 European languages as part of the award process.

The prize was awarded by the European Parliament and voting was based on voting by Members of the European Parliament. In 2020, it was replaced by the LUX Audience Award, presented alongside the European Film Academy in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas, with audience voting by the public counting for 50 per cent of the vote.

History

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Creation and aims

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The award was created in 2007.[1][2] The name of the prize originates from the Latin word for "light", lux,[3] with the award named in honour of the Lumière Brothers, who invented cinematography.[4] The word origin is related to the aim of the award, which is to illuminate public debate on European integration and to facilitate the diffusion of European films in the European Union".[3]

The symbol of the LUX Prize is the Tower of Babel, and the trophy reflects the shape of a tower. It is "a symbol of history where linguistic and cultural diversity join forces".[4] It was designed by Belgian artist Jocelyne Coster.[2]

The European Parliament believes that films help to instigate debate and raise awareness of socio-political issues in Europe, especially with regard to European integration, thus helping to forge and celebrate a stronger European identity and values. The prize also helps to publicise and encourage distribution of European films in the European Union and throughout the world, which otherwise may not get widespread distribution owing to language and other barriers.[5]

Earlier editions

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For the first edition of the prize, three films were shortlisted by a 17-member panel, comprising mainly people in the film industry,[2] who viewed 800 feature films produced in Europe in the year from May 2006 to May 2007. The first LUX Prize was awarded to Turkish-born German director Fatih Akin, for his film The Edge of Heaven.[1][5]

The jury members were appointed by the European Parliament Committee on Culture and Education, and it was planned that a third of the jury would be rotated each year. All members of the European Parliament were able to watch the final three films, but only those who have seen all three qualify for voting rights.[3]

The producers of the ten shortlisted films are required to provide digital copies in the form of DVDs, Vimeo link, or OpenDCP for the members of the European Parliament. In 2015, the shortlisted Son of Saul was disqualified when the production team refused to provide this, fearing that the film copies would be pirated.[6]

In 2019, there were 21 members on the judging panel. The selection of the first 10 films was announced in March of that year, with the final three selected in July and the winner announced in Strasbourg on 27 November.[4]

2020 changes

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Partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, changes were announced to the name, the selection process and the timetabling of the LUX Award in September 2020. The European Parliament and the European Film Academy would be responsible for the management of the award, in partnership with the European Commission and the Europa Cinemas network. The name was changed to LUX – the European Audience Film Award by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, with the abbreviated version LUX European Audience Film Award.[7] The new format was announced by Sabine Verheyen, chair of the Culture Committee, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.[8]

There would henceforth be five nominees competing for the award, which would all be subtitled in 24 European languages, but due to the impact of the pandemic on the film industry, only three would be nominated for the first edition of the new format. The jury would remain similar, but the winner would be selected jointly by MEPs and the public, with each contributing 50 per cent towards the final vote.[7]

Award process

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Selection criteria

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As of 2019, films have to meet following eligibility criteria:[4]

  • Fiction or documentary films (may be animated)
  • Minimum length of 60 minutes
  • Produced or co-produced in a European Union country or in Iceland, Norway, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina or Montenegro, under the Creative Europe/Media Programme.
  • Illustrates the universality of European values and the diversity of European culture, and raise awareness of social or political issues
  • Released for the first time between May 1 of the previous year and June 1 of the current year. For the 2021 edition, the release period was expanded, from 1 June 2019 until 12 September 2020, including online releases.[9]

Preselection

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Ten films are shortlisted, and three of these are selected for the final competition. After three (five after 2021[7]) films have been selected from the 10 preselected films, these films are subtitled into the 24 official EU languages, and they are screened in all EU countries during the "LUX Film Days".[4] In the 2020 edition, no preselection was hold, announcing directly the three nominated films.

2020 selection and voting timetable

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In 2020, the European Film Awards Ceremony was supposed to take place in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 12 December. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Ceremony took place the scheduled day in a virtual format broadcast and streamed from the European Film Academy site in Berlin, where the three nominated films were announced. The three nominated films were chosen by a selection panel[10] consisting of 21 people: Mike Downey (Ireland), Honorary President of the LUX European Audience Film Award, Chairman of the European Film Academy; Jürgen Biesing (Germany), Producer, European Film Awards; Peter Bognar (Hungary), Distributor, Festival Programmer; Mihai Christian Chirilov (Romania), Film Critic, artistic director of TIFF; Ditte Daugbjerg Chistensen (Denmark), Øst for Paradis Cinema, Managing director & Head of distribution; José Luis Cienfuegos (Spain), Director of the Sevilla European Film Festival; Fatima Djoumer, International relations and events administrator, Europa Cinéma; Juliette Duret (Belgium), Head of Cinema, BOZAR; Jakub Duszynski (Poland), Distributor, GUTEK Film, Co-president Europa Distribution; Giorgio Gosetti (Italy), artistic director of Venice Days Film Festival; Vanessa Henneman (Netherlands), Talent manager/agent; Mathilde Henrot (France), Founder of Festival Scope; Matthias Holz (Sweden), Cinema exhibitor and Programming Manager; Yorgos Krassakopoulos (Greece), Head of Programming Thessaloniki Film Festival, Film Critic; Christophe Leparc (France), Secretary General of Director's Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival; Susan Newman-Baudais (Ireland), Eurimages. Head of Programme – Co-production; Karel Och (Czech Republic), Film Critic and artistic director of Karlovy Vary Film Festival; Mira Stavela (Bulgaria), Managing Director Sofia IFF; Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia), Film Director; Mantė Valiūnaitė (Lithuania), artistic director, Vilnius Film Festival; Maria Silvia Gatta (Italy), Observer.

The nominated films, after subtitling in the 24 official languages, are being screened across Europe until May 2021.[7] Between 10 and 16 May 2021 the "LUX Audience Week" takes place, with simultaneous screenings and debates organised across the continent.[8] The public is able to vote by ranking the nominated films, awarding them one to five stars, and the totals will represent 50 per cent of the vote, with the other 50 per cent going to the MEPs.[7] Voting period closes on 23 May 2021.

The winning film will be announced at the LUX Award Ceremony on 9 June 2021,[11] during a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, as in previous editions. The Parliament President presents the award to the laureate in front of the MEPs and representatives from the other films in competition.[7]

2020 Voting process

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The audience can cast their votes for all three nominated films from 13 December 2020 until 23 May 2021 on the Lux award website.[12] Audiences will be able to rate each film via this website. Members of the European Parliament will also vote, from March until 23 May 2021 via a dedicated voting page of the institution. Ratings can be changed an unlimited number of times until the voting closes. The last vote counts.

The final ranking will be determined by combining the public vote and the vote by the Members of the European Parliament, with each group weighing 50%.

Pre-2020 timetable and process

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Date Place Result Notes
February Selection starts
June–July Karlovy Vary International Film Festival,
Karlovy Vary,
the Czech Republic
Launch of the Selection process Public announcement of the 10-LUX films of the Official Selection
September Rome,
Italy
Selection of the 3 shortlist films Announcement of the 3 films in the Official Competition
September Venice Film Festival,
Venice,
Italy
Special screenings Venice Days
September–November LUX Film Days,
cities across European Union member states, candidates, European Economic Area, Switzerland
Special screenings Launched in 2012, the project aims to bring the screenings of the 3 finalists of the award. It is aired mainly in the cinemas that are part of the Europa Cinemas film theatre networks. For most countries, the screenings are also national premieres. Screenings take place also in cooperation with film festivals:
Thessaloniki International Film Festival,
Stockholm International Film Festival,
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival,
• Sevilla Film Festival,
Sofia International Film Festival,
Zagreb Film Festival.
November internet final voting Only Members of the European Parliament, who have seen all three films during the screenings or extra muros, are entitled to vote. Voting takes place electronically via the intranet site at the Parliament. The film which gains the highest number of votes is the winner.
November–December the Seat of the European Parliament,
Strasbourg,
France
the formal, official sitting session of parliament, Selection of the winner LUX Prize Award Ceremony and seminar for journalists

Winners and nominees

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Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

2000s

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Year Result English title Original title Director Nationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
Language Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
European Film Awards
Best Film
2007 Winner The Edge of Heaven Auf der anderen Seite Fatih Akın  Germany German, Turkish, English submission nomination
Top-3 Shortlist 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile Cristian Mungiu  Romania Romanian submission won
Belle Toujours Manoel de Oliveira  Portugal French
Selection Das Fräulein Andrea Štaka  Switzerland German, Swiss German dialect, Serbo-Croatian
Kalinovsky Square Ploshcha Jury Chaščavacki  Belarus Russian, Belarusian, English (subtitles)
It Happened Just Before Kurz davor ist es passiert Anja Salomonowitz  Austria German
Iska's Journey Iszka utazása Csaba Bollók  Hungary Hungarian, Romanian
California Dreamin' California Dreamin' (nesfârșit) Cristian Nemescu  Romania Romanian, English
2008 Winner Lorna's Silence Le Silence de Lorna Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne  Belgium French, Italian, German
Top-3 Shortlist Delta Kornél Mundruczó  Hungary Hungarian
Citizen Havel Občan Havel Miroslav Janek and Pavel Koutecký  Czech Republic Czech
Selection Revanche Götz Spielmann  Austria German, Russian
The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner Светът е голям и спасение дебне отвсякъде Stephan Komandarev  Bulgaria Bulgarian, German, Italian, Slovenian
Cloud 9 Wolke Neun Andreas Dresen  Germany German
Tricks Sztuczki Andrzej Jakimowski  Poland Polish
Autumn Ball Sügisball Veiko Õunpuu  Estonia Estonian
Worlds Apart To verdener Niels Arden Oplev  Denmark Danish
The rest of the night Il Resto della notte Francesco Munzi  Italy Italian, Romanian
2009 Winner Welcome Philippe Lioret  France French, English, Kurdish, Turkish
Top-3 Shortlist Eastern Plays Източни пиеси Kamen Kalev  Bulgaria Bulgarian
Storm Sturm Hans-Christian Schmid  Germany English, German, Bosnian, Serbian
Selection Pandora's Box Pandora'nın Kutusu Yeşim Ustaoğlu  Turkey Turkish
35 Shots of Rum 35 Rhums Claire Denis  France French, German
Ander Roberto Castón  Spain Basque, Spanish
North Nord Rune Denstad Langlo  Norway Norwegian
Katalin Varga Peter Strickland  United Kingdom Hungarian, Romanian
Lost Persons Area Caroline Strubbe  Belgium English, Dutch, Hungarian
For a Moment, Freedom Ein Augenblick Freiheit Francesco Munzi  Austria English, Persian, Turkish

2010s

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Year Result English title Original title Director Nationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
Language Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
European Film Awards
Best Film
2010 Winner When We Leave Die Fremde Feo Aladag  Austria [13] German, Turkish
Top-3 Shortlist Akadimia Platonos Ακαδημία Πλάτωνος Filippos Tsitos  Greece Greek, Albanian, German
Illégal Olivier Masset-Depasse  Belgium [14] French
Selection Medal of Honor Medalia de onoare Calin Peter Netzer  Romania Romanian
The Mouth of the Wolf La bocca del lupo Pietro Marcello  Italy Italian
Lourdes Jessica Hausner  Austria French
I Am Love Io sono l'amore Luca Guadagnino  Italy Italian
Bibliothèque Pascal Szabolcs Hajdu  Hungary Romanian, English, Hungarian
R Tobias Lindholm, Michael Noer  Denmark Danish, Arabic
Eastern Drift Eurazijos aborigenas Šarūnas Bartas  Lithuania French, Lithuanian, Russian
2011 Winner The Snows of Kilimanjaro Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro Robert Guédiguian  France French
Top-3 Shortlist Attenberg Athina Rachel Tsangari  Greece Greek
Play Ruben Östlund  Sweden Swedish
Selection Mysteries of Lisbon Mistérios de Lisboa Raúl Ruiz  Portugal Portuguese, French, English
Le Havre Aki Kaurismäki  Finland French
The Turin Horse A torinói ló Béla Tarr  Hungary Hungarian
Morgen Marian Crişan  Romania Romanian, Hungarian, Turkish
Essential Killing Jerzy Skolimowski  Poland English, Polish, Arabic
We Have a Pope Habemus Papam Nanni Moretti  Italy Italian
Pina Wim Wenders  Germany German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Korean, Spanish
2012 Winner Shun Li and the Poet Io sono Li Andrea Segre  Italy Italian, Mandarin
Top-3 Shortlist Just the Wind Csak a szél Benedek Fliegauf  Hungary
Tabu Miguel Gomes  Portugal
Selection Caesar Must Die Cesare deve morire Vittorio Taviani, Paolo Taviani  Italy nomination
Children of Sarajevo Djeca Aida Begić  Bosnia and Herzegovina
Barbara Christian Petzold  Germany submission nomination
Crulic: The Path to Beyond Crulic - Drumul spre dincolo Anca Damian  Romania
Louise Wimmer Cyril Mennegun  France
Sister L'Enfant d'en haut Ursula Meier  France
Our Children À perdre la raison Joachim Lafosse  Belgium
2013 Winner The Broken Circle Breakdown Felix Van Groeningen  Belgium Dutch nomination nomination
Top-3 Shortlist Miele Valeria Golino  Italy
The Selfish Giant Clio Barnard  United Kingdom
Selection Fortress Pevnost Lukáš Kokeš, Klára Tasovská  Czech Republic
A Coffee in Berlin Oh Boy! Jan Ole Gerster  Germany nomination
The Plague La Plaga Neus Ballús  Spain
The Great Beauty La grande bellezza Paolo Sorrentino  Italy
Circles Кругови Srdan Golubovic  Serbia
In Bloom გრძელი ნათელი დღეები Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß  Georgia  Germany
Eat Sleep Die Äta sova dö Gabriela Pichler  Sweden
2014 Winner Ida Paweł Pawlikowski  Poland Polish, French, Latin won won
Top-3 Shortlist Class Enemy Razredni sovražnik Rok Biček  Slovenia
Girlhood Bande de filles Céline Sciamma  France
Selection White God Fehér isten Kornél Mundruczó  Hungary
Beautiful Youth Hermosa juventud Jaime Rosales  Spain
Stations of the Cross Kreuzweg Dietrich Brüggemann  Germany
The Wonders Le meraviglie Alice Rohrwacher  Italy
Macondo Sudabeh Mortezai  Austria
Force Majeure Turist Ruben Östlund  Sweden
Xenia Panos H. Koutras  Greece
2015 Winner Mustang Deniz Gamze Ergüven  Turkey Turkish nomination nomination
Top-3 Shortlist Mediterranea Jonas Carpignano  Italy
The Lesson Урок Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov  Bulgaria
Selection Rams Hrútar Grímur Hákonarson  Iceland
45 Years Andrew Haigh  United Kingdom
A Perfect Day Un día perfecto Fernando León de Aranoa  Spain
The Measure of a Man La Loi du marché Stéphane Brizé  France
Son of Saul Saul fia László Nemes  Hungary German, Hungarian, Polish, Yiddish, Russian, Slovak, Czech, Greek won
Toto and His Sisters Toto si surorile lui Alexander Nanau  Romania
The High Sun Zvizdan Dalibor Matanić  Croatia
2016 Winner Toni Erdmann Maren Ade  Germany [15] German, English, Romanian won won
Top-3 Shortlist As I Open My Eyes À Peine J'Ouvre Les Yeux Leyla Bouzid  Tunisia
My Life as a Courgette Ma Vie de Courgette Claude Barras  Switzerland
Selection A War Krigen Tobias Lindholm  Denmark
Things to Come L'Avenir Mia Hansen-Løve  France
Sieranevada Cristi Puiu  Romania
Like Crazy La pazza gioia Paolo Virzi  Italy
A Syrian Love Story Sean McAllister  United Kingdom
Letters from War Cartas da Guerra Ivo Ferreira  Portugal
Suntan Argyris Papadimitropoulos  Greece
2017 Winner Sami Blood Sameblod Amanda Kernell  Sweden[16] Swedish, South Sami
Top-3 Shortlist BPM (Beats per Minute) 120 battements par minute Robin Campillo  France French
Western Valeska Grisebach  Germany German, Bulgarian
Selection A Ciambra Jonas Carpignano  Italy Italian
Glory Слава Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov  Bulgaria Bulgarian
Heartstone Hjartasteinn Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson  Iceland Icelandic
King of the Belgians Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth  Belgium  United States English, Flemish, French, Bulgarian
Summer 1993 Estiu 1993 Carla Simón  Spain Catalan
The Last Family Ostatnia rodzina Jan P. Matuszynski  Poland Polish
The Other Side of Hope Toivon tuolla puolen Aki Kaurismäki  Finland Finnish, English, Arabic
2018 Winner Woman at War Kona fer í stríð Benedikt Erlingsson  Iceland Icelandic, Spanish, English, Ukrainian submission
Top-3 Shortlist The Other Side of Everything Druga strana svega Mila Turajlić  Serbia
Styx Wolfgang Fischer  Austria
Selection Border Gräns Ali Abbasi  Denmark Swedish submission nomination
Girl Lukas Dhont  Belgium
Mug Twarz Małgorzata Szumowska  Poland Polish
Utøya: July 22 Utøya 22. juli Erik Poppe  Norway Norwegian
Donbass Донбас Sergei Loznitsa  Ukraine Russian, Ukrainian submission
Happy as Lazzaro Lazzaro felice Alice Rohrwacher  Italy Italian nomination
The Silence of Others El silencio de otros Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar  Spain  United States
2019 Winner God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija Gospod postoi, imeto i' e Petrunija Teona Strugar Mitevska  North Macedonia Macedonian
Top-3 Shortlist The Realm El reino Rodrigo Sorogoyen  Spain Spanish
Cold Case Hammarskjöld Mads Brügger  Denmark
Selection Clergy Kler Wojciech Smarzowski  Poland Polish
Her Job I douleia tis Nikos Labôt  France
Honeyland Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov  North Macedonia Macedonian, Turkish, Bosnian submission
Invisibles Les invisibles Louis-Julien Petit  France French
Ray & Liz Richard Billingham  United Kingdom English
System Crasher Systemsprenger Nora Fingscheidt  Germany German nomination
The Man Who Surprised Everyone Человек, который удивил всех Natasha Merkulova, Aleksey Chupov  Russia Russian

2020s

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Year Result English title Original title Director Nationality of Director
(at time of film's release)
Language Academy Awards
Best Foreign Language Film
European Film Awards
Best Film
2021 Winner Collective Colectiv Alexander Nanau  Romania Romanian nomination won (Best Documentary Film)
Nomination Another Round Druk Thomas Vinterberg  Denmark Danish won won
Corpus Christi Boże Ciało Jan Komasa  Poland Polish nomination nomination
2022 Winner Quo Vadis, Aida? Jasmila Žbanić  Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian, English, Serbian, Dutch
Nomination Flee Flugt Jonas Poher Rasmussen  Denmark Danish, Dari, Russian
Great Freedom Große Freiheit Sebastian Meise  Austria German
2023 Winner Close Lukas Dhont  Belgium French, Dutch
Nomination Alcarràs Carla Simón  Spain Catalan
Nomination Burning Days Kurak Günler Emin Alper  Turkey Turkish
Nomination Triangle of Sadness Ruben Östlund  Sweden English
Nomination Will-o'-the-Wisp Fogo-Fátuo João Pedro Rodrigues  Portugal Portuguese
2024 Winner The Teachers' Lounge Das Lehrerzimmer İlker Çatak  Germany German, Turkish, Polish, English
Nomination 20,000 Species of Bees 20.000 especies de abejas Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren  Spain Spanish, Basque, French
Nomination Fallen Leaves Kuolleet lehdet Aki Kaurismäki  Finland Finnish
Nomination On the Adamant Sur l'Adamant Nicolas Philibert  France French
Nomination Smoke Sauna Sisterhood Savvusanna sõsarad Anna Hints  Estonia Estonian, Seto, Võro

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Feuillère, Anne (24 October 2007). "First LUX Prize goes to Fatih Akin". Cineuropa. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "And the LUX Prize for European cinema goes to... "Auf der anderen Seite"". European Parliament. 23 October 2007. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Karpati, Gyorgy (23 June 2008). "Lux Prize nominations: two films from Eastern Europe in the finale". FilmNewEurope.com. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "IATE Term of the Week: LUX Prize". Terminology Coordination Unit. 26 July 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Why and what". LUX Award. 27 May 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  6. ^ Varga Ferenc (24 July 2015). "Deutsch Tamás sem nézheti meg laptopon a Saul fiát". Origo.
  7. ^ a b c d e f European Union (9 September 2020). "LUX prize will be awarded jointly by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy". The European Sting. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  8. ^ a b "#LUXAward - Audiences and MEPs to choose the winning film". EUReporter. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  9. ^ Selection process | LUX Audience Award (luxaward.eu)
  10. ^ LUX Selection panel | LUX Audience Award
  11. ^ Timeline and voting process | LUX Audience Award
  12. ^ Homepage | LUX Audience Award
  13. ^ European Parliament - News - Parliament's 2010 LUX Cinema Prize goes to "Die Fremde" Archived 2010-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ European Parliament - News - 2010 LUX Prize finalists Archived 2015-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ European Parliament - News - “Toni Erdmann” - winner of the 10th LUX Film Prize
  16. ^ European Parliament - News - The LUX Prize goes to Sámi Blood

Further reading

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