The 2016 LUX Film Prize reveals its Official Selection

Given out each year by the European Parliament to cast a spotlight on the diversity of European cinema and its importance in building social and cultural values, the 2016 LUX Film Prize kicked off yesterday at the 51st Karlovy Vary International Film Festival with the unveiling of the ten films honoured with a place in its Official Selection. The movies, which appealed to the taste of the LUX Film Prize Selection Panel, represent one of the most diverse line-ups ever portrayed in the award's ten-year history. Indeed, this year marks the tenth anniversary of the LUX Film Prize, and the ten films showcase a desire to embrace an unpredictable variety of genre and tones from all corners of Europe.

Here are the selected films:

As I Open My Eyes by Leyla Bouzid (France/Tunisia/Belgium/United Arab Emirates)

A Syrian Love Story by Sean McAllister (United Kingdom)

Letters from War by Ivo M Ferreira (Portugal)

A War by Tobias Lindholm (Denmark)

Things to Come by Mia Hansen-Löve (France/Germany)

Like Crazy by Paolo Virzi (Italy/France)

My Life as a Courgette by Claude Barras (Switzerland/France)

Sieranevada by Cristi Puiu (Romania/France)

Suntan by Argyris Papadimitropoulos (Greece/Germany)

Toni Erdmann by Maren Ade (Germany/Austria/Romania)

Four of the films focus on conflicts or contemporary revolutionary trends, showing us a young generation caught between hope and love for their own country, and repression and despair across the Mediterranean (As I Open My Eyes), the struggle of a family living through the Syrian revolution and war, before becoming refugees (A Syrian Love Story), a poetic, tender and intense mirror of our colonialist heritage (Letters from War) and the question of the limits of the international presence in Afghanistan (A War). The bittersweet and delightful stop-motion animation in My Life as a Courgette, the beautiful and touching portrayal of the female characters in Things to Come and Like Crazy, and the contemporary and very cynical wave of humour in Toni Erdmann, Sieranevada and Suntan complete the selection, which was revealed by Michaela Šojdrová, vice-chair of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament; Martina Dlabajová, vice-chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control; Julie Ward and Bogdan Wenta, members of the Committee on Culture and Education, and Doris Pack, LUX Film Prize coordinator.

The event also included the unveiling of the Audience Mention, the film from the 2015 LUX Film Prize Competition that received the highest number of votes from audiences across Europe - it was none other than the acclaimed LUX Prize Winner Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven. From among the voters, Roumiana Vasileva Zlateva from Bulgaria was randomly selected and invited to the Karlovy Vary Film Festival to announce it.

Finally, the three final titles in the LUX Film Prize Competition will be announced at the Venice Days press conference in Rome at the end of July 2016. These films will compete to be the winner of the 2016 LUX Film Prize, and will become the core of the 2016 LUX Film Days. For the first time, this year's LUX Film Days will be marked by the cooperation between the Parliament Information Offices and the Creative Europe MEDIA Desks, as as to strengthen visibility and broaden the audience. In order to support the European film industry and help the most significant European (co-)productions to circulate beyond their national market, the prize subtitles the three competing films into the 24 official languages of the European Union and screens them in all 28 EU countries during the LUX Film Days. In doing so, the European Parliament supports cultural diversity, as it brings films to audiences across Europe and encourages debate on the issues they raise. The winner will be awarded on 23 November in Strasbourg. The winning film will also be made available for the visually and hearing-impaired, and will be promoted by the European Parliament.