We are delighted to partner with the European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland which promotes the LUX Audience Award. LUX – The European Audience Film Award was introduced in 2020 and is presented every year by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy, in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas. For more information on the LUX Audience Award visit here.
The long list of films in contention is drawn from all the Fiction and Documentary nominations put forward to the EFA Awards. Five of those films were selected at the EFA Awards on 10th December 2022 in Reykjavík, Iceland, and are shortlisted for the LUX Audience Award 2023.
The five films are:
Alcarràs by Carla Simón (screened at CIFF2022)
This Spanish drama follows the Solé family, who have been tending the peach orchard in the little traditional Catalan village of Alcarràs for generations. This large happy family is making a living from picking peaches every summer, however, the new owner decides to replace the trees with solar panels. This moving, intimate and authentic personal portrait of a tight-knit family facing an uncertain future won director Carla Simón The Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2022.
Burning Days Emin Alper (screened at CIFF2022)
Emre is a prosecutor, young, ambitious and dedicated. He is appointed to a position in a small, remote town, drastically hit by a water crisis and rife with political scandal. After an initially steady start and seemingly accepted into the community, Emre becomes inadvertently embroiled in an incident which could devastate his career. In this superbly crafted Turkish thriller, director Emin Alper expertly lets the tension bubble under the surface whilst gradually turning the thumbscrews and keeping the viewer guessing until the intense climax.
Close by Lukas Dhont
The intense friendship between two thirteen-year-old boys Leo and Remi suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened; Leo approaches Sophie, Remi’s mother. Close is a film about friendship and responsibility.
Triangle of Sadness by Ruben Östlund
An uninhibited satire where roles and class are inverted and the tawdry economic value of beauty is unveiled. Models Carl and Yaya are navigating the world of fashion while exploring the boundaries of their relationship. The couple are invited for a luxury cruise with a rogues’ gallery of super-rich passengers, a Russian oligarch, British arms dealers and an idiosyncratic, alcoholic, Marx-quoting captain. At first, all appears Instagrammable. But a storm is brewing, and heavy seasickness hits the passengers during the seven-course captain’s dinner. The cruise ends catastrophically. Carl and Yaya find themselves marooned on a desert island with a group of billionaires and one of the ship’s cleaners. Hierarchy is suddenly flipped upside down, as the housekeeper is the only one who knows how to fish.
Will-o’-the-Wisp by João Pedro Rodrigues
On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, king without a crown, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. The encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade, opens a new chapter in the life of the two young men immersed in love and desire, and the will to change the status quo.
Cork International Film Festival will present these films in cinema in Spring 2023, ahead of the winner announcement in June, allowing audiences to discover fantastic films from Europe and cast their vote for their favourite ones. More details to follow soon.
