Parliament to award 'top' European film

A new award for cutting edge European cinema aims to celebrate our shared values and highlight parliament’s role in promoting culture, says Gerard Onesta.

The Green MEP told a press conference Monday afternoon that the Lux Prize, the European parliament’s own film award, contribute to the debate on European integration.

“People outside of Europe understand that there is a European identity of cultural diversity, rule of law, etc, but I think that inside Europe we can lose site of this,” he said. 

“I hope that the winner will be a film that celebrates cultural diversity or our shared cultural values.”

Three films -  Cristian Mungiu's Palme d'Or winner 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days from Romania; Fatih Akin's The Edge of Heaven from Germany/Turkey and Manoel de Oliveira's Belle Toujours, a Portuguese/French co-production – have been short-listed.

The three films were chosen following a selection process by a 17-member jury appointed by the parliament's committee on culture and education. According to Onesta, only MEPs who have seen all three films will be eligible to vote.

Promoting the role of parliament is central to Onesta’s vision of the prize.

“Europe is seen as a sort of machine giving out directives and legislation, but it is more than that,” he said.

“Within the culture committee, we wanted to find a method that was warmer and more direct at getting this across.

“Language, borders, rights, culture … all these touch on the essence of the European project.”

The competing films will be screened nine times from 1-18 October 2007 in Brussels, at the parliament, in a specially created 90-seat cinema.

The Lux prize will be awarded by parliament president Hans Gert Pöttering on 24 October during the plenary session in Strasbourg.

“The cinema is physically in parliament, because this idea is central to the European project,” said Onesta.

Parliament will pay to subtitle and produce prints of the winning film in all 23 of the EU's official languages to facilitate its distribution.

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