08/11/2013 - Valeria Golino’s directorial debut greeted in press conference for the European Parliament’s LUX Prize; all finalists to be screened at the fest.

Spearheaded by Michel Dimopoulos, past Thessaloniki Film Festival president and one of the founding figures of the LUX Prize initiatives, the festival’s press conference focused both on LUX finalist Honey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valeria Golino
interview: Valeria Golino
film profile] and on the importance of the LUX prize itself.

European Parliament member Chrysoula Paliadeli expressed her satisfaction with the fact that “the LUX Prize has become embedded in the festival for the past two years, because it’s a prize which proves that European Parliament members don’t only support culture, but are devoted to support a multicultural policy, which celebrates cultural diversity through European unity”.

Referring to the fact that audiences throughout Europe are also able to take part in voting for their favourite film via the LUX Prize online voting system, Mrs. Paliadeli noted that “participation in such voting is a precursor to the participation of citizens in the European elections where voters' turnout is vital”.

Michel Dimopoulos, a member of the LUX Prize Selection Panel, which chooses the 10 films to be considered for the award, noted that “the LUX Prize includes covering subtitling expenses in 24 languages for all three finalists, which proves that the European Parliament is seriously invested in culture and film production”.

Asked about the European aspect of her film, Valeria Golino said that “today euthanasia is one of the most important ethical issues, and it is an even more sensitive topic in countries like Greece or Italy where religion holds a prominent role”. Therefore, “Europe and European governments must take a very serious look at this issue," she concluded.

Valeria Golino’s Honey as well as Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Clio Barnard
interview: Clio Barnard
film profile] and Felix Van Groeningen’s The Broken Circle Breakdown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Felix van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
interview: Felix Van Groeningen
film profile] will be screened during the fest.