Greek film among five contenders for EU’s LUX Audience Award
A Greek co-production is among the five films nominated for the LUX Audience Award, which is organised by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy.
Sofia Exarchou’s “Animal” is about a group of animateurs who spend an increasingly wild summer working at the Hotel Mirage, an all-inclusive island resort in Greece. Kalia is the leader of the pack. Paper decors, glossy costumes and dance shows fill the stage. As summer intensifies and the work pressure builds up, their nights become violent and Kalia’s struggle is revealed in the darkness. But when the spotlights turn on again, the show must go on.
The film, co-produced by Austria, Romania, Cyprus and Bulgaria, won the International Competition’s Best Feature Film at the 64th Thessaloniki Film Festival in 2023.
The other nominated films are: “Dahomey,” directed by Matti Diop (France, Senegal, Benin); “Flow,” directed by Gints Zilbalodis (Latvia, France, Belgium); “Intercepted,” directed by Oksana Karpovych (Canada, France, Ukraine); and “Julie keeps quiet,” directed by Leonardo van Dijl (Sweden, Belgium).
Both the public and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) can rate the five nominated films online. The film with the highest total score will win the LUX Audience Award. The winner will be announced at the LUX Audience Award Ceremony, which is scheduled to take place in the European Parliament in April 2025.
The European Parliament is organizing free screenings of the nominated films in all EU countries with subtitles in 24 EU official languages.
In addition, viewers can watch the films by attending a commercial screening in cinemas. Screenings are listed on the luxaward.eu site.
