Selfish Giant on prize short list
Selection reveals diversity of European films
By Richard Mowe
The ten films selected for the LUX Prize 2013 Official Selection were unveiled at the 48th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival at a reception last night (30 June)
The films including the UK's The Selfish Giant, are said to reflect "the richness, diversity and excellence of European cinema."
The titles are:
• Äta sova dö (Eat Sleep Die), by Gabriela Pichler - Sweden
• Grzeli nateli dgeebi (In Bloom), by Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß - Georgia, Germany, France
• Krugovi (Circles), by Srdan Golubovic - Serbia, Germany, France, Slovenia, Croatia
• La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty), by Paolo Sorrentino - Italy, France
• La Plaga (The Plague), by Neus Ballús - Spain
• Miele (Honey), by Valeria Golino - Italy, France
• Oh Boy, by Jan Ole Gerster - Germany
• Pevnost (Fortress), by Lukáš Kokeš, Klára Tasovská - Czech Republic
• The Broken Circle Breakdown, by Felix van Groeningen - Belgium
• The Selfish Giant, by Clio Barnard - United Kingdom
The films, which span multiple countries across Europe, provide an eclectic mix of socially realist dramas, experimental pieces and documentaries, and represent the work of a few established and well known filmmakers among young and promising newcomers.
Notably there are an important number of female directors and first-time filmmakers included in the shortlist, among them Italian actress Valeria Golino for her feature directorial debut Miele, Swedish Gabriela Pichler, who wrote and directed her first feature film, Eat Sleep Die and Georgian Nana Ekvtimishvili who co-directed the poetic In Bloom.
The Cannes Directors’ Fortnight revelation Clio Barnard also has been selected with The Selfish Giant, as well as documentary maker Klara Tasovska, from the Czech Republic, for Fortress. Many films have been the collaborative effort of a range of European countries, most especially Srdan Golubovic’s film Circles, which was coproduced in Germany, France, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.
The Official Selection was announced by Oldrich Vlasak, Vice-President of the European Parliament, Silvia Costa, member of the Committee on Culture and Education, and two members of the LUX Prize Selection Panel: Karel Och, KVIFF Artistic Director, and Jakub Duszynski, Co-President of Europa Distribution.
The LUX Prize 2013 winner, voted by Members of the European Parliament, will be awarded in December 2013 in Strasbourg.
