"Ida" Wins Lux Prize

Ida, photo courtesy of Opus Film

Members of the European Parliament voted to award the 2014 Lux Prize to Ida, a film by Paweł Pawlikowski. The voting results were announced on December 17 at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Another International Award for Ida

The Lux Prize marks another addition to a series of wins for Ida, a film directed by Paweł Pawlikowski, produced by Opus Film and supported by the Polish Film Institute. In recent weeks, Ida has received a plethora of awards and nominations in Europe and the United States. The top wins included the European Film Awards, where Ida swept a total of five awards, including the 2014 Best European Film, and a nomination for the Golden Globes in the foreign-language film category. An up-to-date list of awards and nominations is available here.

The Long Road to the Lux Prize Finale

Films competing for the award could be submitted by Members of the European Parliament, private individuals and film professionals by April 17, 2014. In the second stage, the selection committee chose a list of ten films that moved into official selections. The titles of the ten nominated films were announced at the Karlovy Vary IFF. The list of three finalists was announced at this year’s Venice IFF. Ida was among the three finalists alongside Bande de filles (Girlhood), a film by Céline Sciamma, representing France, and Razredni Svoraznik (Class Enemy), a film by Rok Biček, representing Slovenia. One of the members of this year’s selection panel was Jakub Duszyński, who represented Polish film distributor Gutek Film.

Lux Film Prize

The goal of the Lux Prize, awarded annually since 2007 by the European Parliament, is to promote European films and European culture by encouraging public debate on European values and contemporary social issues. Winners of the Lux Prize in recent years included The Broken Circle Breakdown, directed by Felix van Groeningen, Io sono Li (Shun Li and the Poet), directed by Andrea Segre, Les neiges du Kilimandjaro (The Snows of Kilimanjaro), directed by Robert Guédiguian, Die Fremde (When We Leave), directed by Feo Aladag, Welcome, directed by Philippe Lioret, and La silence de Lorna (Lorna’s Silence), directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne. The first winner of the Lux Prize back in 2007 was Fatih Akin and his film Auf den anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven).

Polish Films Nominated for the Lux Prize

Polish films nominated for the award in recent years included Anca Damian’s Crulic – The Path to Beyond in 2012, Jerzy Skolimowski’s Essential Killing in 2011, and Andrzej Jakimowski’s Sztuczki (Tricks) in 2008.

Choose Your Own Winner

The Lux Prize Audience Mention gives the viewers a voice by letting them choose their favourite among the three Lux Prize finalists. Voting is open until the end of January 2015. The results of the audience poll will be announced at next year’s edition of the Karlovy Vary film festival, which runs from July 3 through July 11, 2015. Further details on the Audience Mention vote are available here.

For more details about the Lux Prize please visit www.luxprize.eu.

Magdalena Wylężałek

Translated by Karolina Kołtun