Feo Aladag’s When We Leave awarded the 2010 LUX Prize
by Cineuropa
The German film When We Leave [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Feo Aladag
interview: Feo Aladag
film profile] by Austrian-born director Feo Aladag is the winner of the 2010 LUX Prize. The awards ceremony took place this morning at the Strasbourg headquarters of the European Parliament (EP), in the presence of the other two finalists as well, directors Filippos Tsitos (Plato's Academy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Constantin Moriatis
interview: Filippos Tsitos
interview: Filippos Tsitos
film profile]) and Olivier Masset-Depasse (Illegal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olivier Masset-Depasse
film profile]).
Awarding the prize, EP President Jerzy Buzek said: "The three films deal in a very sensitive way with the issue of identity, and the differences between a collective identity and an individual one. This is an important topic because in an ever more integrated Europe we will have to answer the question what it actually means to be European, and what our many identities – local, regional, national and European – mean in a united continent. If we want to create a true European demos, we have to be able to truly understand each other. What better way than through culture, art, music and, of course, films?"
In receiving the prize, Aladag said: "I made When We Leave because I believe we live in a multicultural society which can no longer rest on promoting consensus but must rather find new ways in dealing with arising divergence. The LUX Prize is an essential bridge between national identities and beyond. That is why, for me, the European Parliament's commitment to culture and education is of such great importance."
Below the interview with Feo Aladag from Venice Days 2010:
Produced by Berlin-based Independent Artists Filmproduktion, When We Leave was first presented in the Berlinale’s Panorama sidebar section and was also selected as the German entry for Oscar consideration for Best Foreign Language Film (see news).
As with previous winners The Edge of Heaven [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fatih Akin
interview: Klaus Maeck
film profile] (2007), The Silence of Lorna [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arta Dobroshi
interview: Arta Dobroshi
interview: Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne
interview: Olivier Bronckart
film profile] (2008) and Welcome [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Philippe Lioret
film profile] (2009), When We Leave will get financial support from the European Parliament consisting of subtitling into the 23 official languages of the European Union, including an adaptation of the original version for visually or hearing-impaired people; and a 35mm print per EU member state or support for the subsequent DVD release.
This morning’s ceremony brings to an end a long selection process closely followed by Cineuropa since March. The three finalists were part of a shortlist that included Szabolcs Hajdu’s Bibliothèque Pascal [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Szabolcs Hajdu - director
interview: Szabolcs Hajdu
film profile]; Sharunas Bartas’s Eastern Drift [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see video interview with producer Grégoire de Bailly); Luca Guadagnino’s I Am Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luca Guadagnino - director
film profile] (see video interview with producer Marco Morabito); Pietro Marcello’s The Mouth of the Wolf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
film profile]; Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jessica Hausner
film profile] (see video interview with producer Antonin Svoboda); Calin Peter Netzer’s Medal of Honour [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see video interview with producer Adriana Solomon); and Tobias Lindholm and Michael Noer’s R [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see video interview with the co-directors).
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
