Once again this year, the European Parliament is supporting European cinema by way of the LUX Prize. The 2019 edition of the Competition officially kicked off in March and, following much deliberation on the part of the Selection Panel, the ten films which make up the Official Selection have just been unveiled at the 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

A highly varied initial shortlist of films was considered for the debates and was consequently discussed by the 21 European film professionals who carefully suggested, watched and selected them. A selection of refreshing and eye-opening European works, including first features, fiction films and documentaries, directed by both male and female directors, hailing from every country on the Continent, were discussed, evaluated and compared by the selection-panel members.

The official line-up was revealed today at Karlovy Vary, 30 June, by European Parliament´s Vice-Chair of the Committee on Culture and Education Helga Trüpel, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control Martina Dlabajová, LUX Prize coordinator Doris Pack, and Benedikt Erlingsson, director of  2018 LUX Prize winner - Woman at War.

The 2019 LUX Prize Official Selection
(in alphabetical order)

Clergy (Kler) - Wojciech Smarzowski (Poland)

Cold Case Hammarskjöld - Mads Brügger (Denmark/Norway/Sweden/Belgium/United Kingdom/Germany)
God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya (Gospod postoi, imeto i´e Petrunya) - Teona Strugar Mitevska (North Macedonia/Belgium/Slovenia/ France/Croatia)

Her Job (I Doulia tis)  – Nikos Labôt (Greece/France/Serbia)

Honeyland (Medena zemja) - Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov (North Macedonia)

Invisibles (Les invisibles) – Louis-Julien Petit (France)

Ray & Liz – Richard Billingham (United Kingdom)

System Crasher (Systemsprenger) – Nora Fingscheidt (Germany)

The Man Who Surprised Everyone (Tchelovek, kotorij udivil vsekh)– Natasha Merkulova, Aleksey Chupov (Russian Federation/Estonia/France)
The Realm (El reino) – Rodrigo Sorogoyen (Spain/France)

This year’s highlights in the selection include a total of four female directors (Teona Strugar Mitevska, Tamara Kotevska, Nora Fingscheidt and Natasha Merkulova), two documentaries (Cold Case Hammarskjöld and Honeyland), a sensational presence of small countries (not one but two films from North Macedonia) and European co-productions (half of the selection are co-productions).

The 2018 LUX Prize Audience Mention goes to Woman at War

On the same event, the 2018 LUX Prize Audience Mention was announced. The 2018 LUX Prize Official Competition film that received the highest number of votes from audiences across Europe was Woman at War. This year, the lucky voter randomly selected from among all the participants and invited to the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to announce the Audience Mention award is Hungarian-born, Sweden-based Barbara Majsa, a freelance journalist, editor, film critic, and also the managing editor at Cinema Scandinavia who awarded the price to director Benedikt Erlingsson.

The LUX Prize Competition and the LUX Film Days

From the aforementioned 10 films in the Official Selection, 3 films will take part in the LUX Prize Competition, which will be selected and announced at the Giornate degli Autori press conference in Rome on 23 of July 2019. These films will compete to be the winner of the 2019 LUX Prize and will become the core of the LUX Film Days.

In order to support the European film industry and help the most significant European (co-)productions to circulate beyond their national market, the European Parliament LUX Film Prize subtitles the 3 competing films into the 24 official languages of the European Union and screens them in all 28 EU countries during the LUX Film Days. In doing so, the European Parliament supports cultural diversity as it brings films to audiences across Europe and encourages debate on the issues they raise.

The 2019 LUX Prize winner will be awarded on 27 November . The winning film will also be made available for the visually- and hearing-impaired, and actively promoted by the European Parliament.

 

About the 10 films...

2019 LUX Film Prize Official Selection

Clergy by Wojciech Smarzowski
An unanimous objection to the historically influential and nowadays increasingly unquestioned role of the Catholic Church in Poland. Three priests and an archbishop are the particular focus of the story, and different “sins”, as per the Catholic teachings, are explored through each of them.

Cold Case Hammarskjöld by Mads Brügger
A provocative investigation into the 1961 death of Swedish UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld. A film that reminds us how feature filmmaking can be a consciousness-raising force and that, as a bonus, is also hilarious, charming and deeply humanist.

God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija by Teona Strugar Mitevska
A powerful cinematic work, which tells the story of a woman that finds herself in a position only men can access to at a religious ceremony, and which makes a significant contribution to the feminist struggle, the most acute social issue of our times, which has yet to gain momentum in the Balkans.

Her Job by Nikos Labôt
A strong drama on the aftermath of the Greek financial crisis and the need for female empowerment in a dislocated and wounded society. A film that shows that survival can only be achieved through self-liberation.

Honeyland by Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir Stefanov
A visually spectacular piece of cinéma vérité represents an extraordinary journey from a personal to a local to a global level by following one beekeeper in rural Macedonia, in the midst of the contemporary awareness of the significance of bees for the global environment.

Invisibles by Louis-Julien Petit
A story about the struggle of a group of homeless women and the social workers who care for them after their reception centre is closed. A look at a topical issue from a certain closeness, full of laughter, tears and emotion.

Ray & Liz by Richard Billingham
A story about bullying, domestic abuse and alcoholism that flits back and forth in time. An austere, autobiographical movie full of an overpowering sense of how a bad relationship, or a domineering parent, can create misery.

System Crasher by Nora Fingscheidt
Under the unofficial denomination for children who won’t fit into any existing structure, the very relevant social drama follows the wild and energetic journey of a 9-year-old girl through all possible stations of German Child Proctective Services.

The Man Who Surprised Everyone by Natasha Merkulova and Aleksey Chupov
A story that merges folklore and local humour with contemporary politics that intends to convey a parable about ordinary Russians and their relationship with death, edging into the field of contemporary LGBT rights in Russia.

The Realm by Rodrigo Sorogoyen
A forceful and adrenaline-charged thriller that grapples with Spain’s hottest topic in the recent years, corruption among the political class through the fall of a successful politician, and his fiefdom, that looked destined to last forever.

Visit us: www.luxprize.eu 

Warsaw Kids Film Forum is delighted to announce the full selection of projects to be presented during the Forum in September. This year we received 58 applications from 21 different countries from which our selection committee including Tania Pinto da Cunha,Viola Gabrielli, Zofia Horszczaruk, Ronald Krushchak and Maciej Jakubczyk have chosen 25 projects to be pitched.

Filmmakers of the selected projects will have the opportunity to present their work in front of the International and Polish Decision Makers which includes distributors, sales agents, TV broadcasters, producers, investors, film institutes and funds.

This year again we have diverse country representation. The selection includes projects from 16 different regions including: Austria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey,and Ukraine.  

Sessions during the Forum are divided into two groups: Projects in Development and Works in Progress.

Presented projects are competing for awards:

• CeTA Awards – Audiovisual Technology Center (Centrum Technologii Audiowizualnych CeTA) will award 2 projects with production and post production services at CeTA studios for a total amount of EUR 37.600.
• EAVE Award – European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs will be granting an invitation to the
  EAVE Marketing workshop in autumn 2018 in Luxembourg. The Financing Forum for Kids
• Content Award – The Financing Forum For Kids Content (Malmö, Sweden). The Forum will award the best pitch by giving the producers an invitation to present the project in Malmö in March 2019
  The Financing Forum for Kids Content Award – The Financing Forum For Kids Content
  (Malmö, Sweden). The Forum will award the best pitch by giving the producers an
  invitation to present the project in Malmö in March 2019.
• Pop Up Film Residency – Individual three weeks membership program in Bratislava

Today in Warsaw will start the first session of DOC DEVELOPMENT - an intensive program of documentary development at an early stage. The project will be developed by, among others, a valued cinematographer and documentalist Paweł Dyllus, laureate of numerous international awards for "3 days of freedom" Łukasz Borowski, titled author of animations and music videos Urszula Morga, director of the award-winning Arabian secret Julia Groszek, Grand Press Photo winner Paweł Wyszomirski and Aleksandra Maciejczyk, whose film "Connected" was awarded the Silver Dragon at the 59th Krakow Film Festival. In total, 12 projects take part in the program.

The first edition of DOC DEVELOPMENT will open the Warsaw session planned for the last week of June. The next sessions will be held in autumn: in September, October, November and December. The program is organized by the Filmowa im. Władysław Ślesicki.

Konsultacje z tutorami programu DOC LAB POLAND (archiwum)

DOC DEVELOPMENT will consist of five 3-day sessions, during which participants will consult their ideas with tutors and experts - leading Polish filmmakers and other participants, analyze research and documentary photos, prepare a preliminary teaser and professional presentation materials, and finally write or refine the script. Each project is also provided to cover the cost of documentation in the amount of PLN 1,500.

The program ends with pitching for producers interested in cooperation on participants' projects and individual meetings with them. The effect of the program is also to prepare projects for submitting applications to PISF for development. The consultants of the program are leading Polish documentalists: Lidia Duda, Bartek Konopka and Jacek Bławut. The program's director is Adam Ślesicki. The workshops will also be run by producers Katarzyna Ślesicka and Anna Wydra as well as lawyers, specialists in promotion, preparation of trailers, research, archives, etc.

- The creators often struggle with the problem of "blank paper". Often they do not have anyone to consult their projects with - says Adam Ślesicki, director of DOC DEVELOPMENT. - I would like to create a place where in a friendly atmosphere they will be able to confront their ideas, give in to constructive criticism, knowing that sympathetic experts will listen to them, and at the same time they will work intensively on projects. We created such a model 5 years ago in DOC LAB POLAND and I see that it brings very good results. Now we want to focus also on this earlier stage, when the project is just being created, when it can still be run in different directions and make choices that will later decide on the film. DOC DEVELOPMENT assumes working with directors, but we would also like to prepare them for interviews with producers, equip them with the necessary tools for this cooperation and show the elements that later influence, for example, successful project financing. Over 50 projects submitted for selection show that the demand for such a program is high.

Warsztaty Fundacji Filmowej im. Władysława Ślesickiego w 2018 roku (archiwum)

The first edition of the program will be attended by: Karina Bedkowska, Łukasz Borowski, Aleksandra Maciejczyk, Filip Drzewiecki, Paweł Dyllus, Klaudia Folga, Julia Groszek, Ilona Laskowska-Levy, Emmanuel Levy, Eri Mizutani, Urszula Morga, Andrzej Szypulski, and Paweł Wyszomirski.

Organizatorem DOC DEVELOPMENT jest Fundacja Filmowa im. Władysława Ślesickiego, która od 2015 roku prowadzi największy w Polsce program konsultacyjno-prezentacyjny DOC LAB POLAND. Efektem dotychczasowych pięciu edycji jest ok. 120 rozwijanych lub pitchowanych projektów, z których powstało już ok. 40 filmów zdobywających laury na całym świecie. Co roku w ramach programu odbywa się ponad 300 indywidualnych spotkań koprodukcyjnych i dystrybucyjnych podczas Krakowskiego Festiwalu Filmowego. Fundacja jest także organizatorem jedynego w Polsce międzynarodowego Marketu Koprodukcyjnego na KFF (co roku ponad ok. 40 uczestniczących producentów i ok. 400 spotkań), a także programu Doc Hot Selection, w ramach którego prezentowane są najlepsze i najczęściej nagradzane polskie filmy dokumentalne ostatnich lat.

DOC DEVELOPMENT jest wsparty przez Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej, Partnerami są: Mazowiecki Instytut Kultury, Mazovia Warsaw Film Commission, Krajowa Izba Producentów Audiowizualnych i kancelaria MKZ Partnerzy.

All Information Here: www.docdevelopment.pl

The Czech production company Negativ, whose films have made a mark both at home and internationally for twenty-five years, will present four new feature films at this year's 54th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The main competition is represented by the Slovak-Czech co- production 'Let There Be Light' by Marko Škop. Debuting director Michal Hogenauer will present 'A Certain Kind of Silence' in the East of the West competition. Martin Mareček's documentary 'Over The Hills' was selected for the Documentary Competition, and the festival audiences can in addition count down to the portrait film 'Forman vs. Forman' by veteran director Helena Třeštíková and Jakub Hejna, after its premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival. All titles will be presented as Czech premieres. 

“It is a great honor for us to have such a strong presence at this year's festival. The Karlovy Vary festival brings us beautiful memories of the Crystal Globes, which we received here in the main competition for 'The Year of the Devil' and in the documentary competition for 'Mallory', but also for its great festival audiences. I will probably never forget last year's screening of the documentary 'King Skate' in the Grand Hall of the Thermal with all the skateboard legends on stage; or the enthusiastic applause after we screened a special episode of 'Blanik Office' filmed at the very festival that year”, says one of the founders of the Negativ, producer Pavel Strnad. 

Negativ was established in Prague in 1995, and the first film under which Pavel Strnad and Petr Oukropec were signed as producers was 'Indian Summer' by Sasha Gedeon. During the following years, the company grew to include Kateřina Černá and Milan Kuchynka, and to date has produced more than 50 features, documentaries and animated feature films. Most of them received a number of awards, either at international festivals or at the national film awards, the Czech Lions. Five Negativ films won the Czech Lion for Best Film: 'The Return of the Idiot', 'Year of the Devil', 'Something Like Happiness', 'Protector' and 'Ice Mother' in 2018. 'Katka' and 'King Skate' in 2019 won Best Documentary. The films 'René' and 'Alois Nebel' succeeded abroad and – as the only Czech productions – brought Negativ two European Film Academy Awards. 

The company has continuously cooperated with directors such as Bohdan Sláma, Helena Třeštíková, Marek Najbrt and Michaela Pavlátová, as well as produced many films by debuting directors, such as 'A Certain Kind of Silence' in the East of the West competition. Most Negativ films are produced in international co-production, most often with Germany, France and Slovakia, but also with Latvia and the Netherlands. The long-term partners in the Czech Republic are the Czech Film Fund and Czech Television. 

“We strive to select projects that deal with topics that we consider important and that can reach an international audience. We cooperate with our regular authors on the selection of materials and development, which we place great emphasis on. Thorough dramaturgical preparation is a prerequisite for a good result," says producer Petr Oukropec on Negativ's strategy. 

Currently Negativ is finishing the feature film 'National Street' by Štěpán Altrichter, based on a novel by Jaroslav Rudiš, which will be premiered this autumn. Work is also underway on the feature-length animated film by Michaela Pavlátová, 'My Sunny Maad', based on a novel by Petra Procházková Frišta. Followers of Helena Třeštíková will be pleased to hear that she together with Negativ is completing more long-term documentaries as well as preparing to shoot another sequel to 'The Marriage Stories'. The biggest Negativ project this year, however, will be the filming of the political drama 'Je suis Karl' by German director Christian Schwochow, which is a German-Czech co-production with Pandora Film Produktion with a budget of over 5 million euros. 

-- Let There Be Light Milan (40) has three children and goes to Germany to work and provide for his family. When he returns home for Christmas, he discovers that his eldest son, Adam, is a member of a paramilitary youth group that is accused of bullying and the suicide of a classmate. The father decides to investigate what actually happened. In doing so, together with his wife Zuzka, they discover the true truth about their son, themselves, and about the society around them. 

Director: Marko Škop Producers: Marko Škop, Ján Meliš, Petr Oukropec, Pavel Strnad Casting / Milan Ondrík, František Beleš, Zuzana Konečná, Ľubomír Paulovič, Katarína Kormaňáková, Maxmilián Dušanič Screenplay / Marko Škop Camera / Ján Meliš Editor / František Krähenbiel Sound / Jan Čeněk Music / David Solař, Oskar Rózsa Costumes / Erika Gadus Make-up / Zuzana Paulini Starring / Pavol Andraško 

A Certain Kind of Silence Mia goes abroad to work as an au pair in an upper class family. She has to look after a posh house, and especially the ten-year-old Sebastian. The young girl gradually adopts to the special rules of the new family. However, through their systematic manipulation, she begins to turn her back on her own moral standards and the relationship with the entrusted child. Will Mia manage to get out of the grib of a radical family community? Director: Michal Hogenauer Producers: Petr Oukropec, Pavel Strnad Casting / Eliška Křenková, Jacob Jutte, Monic Hendrickx, Roeland Fernhout Screenplay / Jakub Felcman, Michal Hogenauer Director of Photography / Gregg Telussa Editor / Michal Reich Sound / Richard Müller Music / Filip Míšek Costumes / Katrina Liepa Artist / Laura Dišlere 

Over The Hills Two thousand eight hundred and fifty-two kilometers between Brno and Divějev, between East and West, between father and son. So far, so close. Vit and his son Grisha set out on a long journey to Russia before the end of the holidays. As soon as he gets in the car, the son puts on his headphones and his father sinks into his memories. But they still can't escape one another. There is however one thing that can bring them together again – a common search. But what are they really looking for? Director: Martin Mareček Producer: Petr Oukropec Screenplay / Marek Šindelka, Martin Mareček, Tomáš Bojar Original Idea / Martin Mareček Director of photography / Jiří Málek Editor / Josef Krajbich Zvuk / Viktor Ekrt 

Forman vs. Forman A comprehensive portrait of one of the leading Czech directors Miloš Forman. Forman as a creator, as a man, and as a filmmaker who received Oscars for 'Amadeus' and 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. And at the same time a charismatic adventurer who is not afraid to doubt himself. Inspired by his experiences with the totalitarian regime in the former Czechoslovakia, Forman took the theme of the individual versus the institutions, which he successfully developed in the films he made in Hollywood. At the same time, he was relentlessly looking for a place where he could feel free. 'Forman vs. Forman' by directors Helena Třeštíková and Jakub Hejna summarizes Forman's life journey, which combined joys of fame with wounds of fate. The film is a collage of unseen private and official archive material, as well as autobiographical recollections. It premiered as part of the official program of this year's Cannes Film Festival. Director: Helena Třeštíková and Jakub Hejna Producer: Kateřina Černá Screenplay / Helena Třeštíková Director of Photography / David Cysař Editor / Jakub Hejna Sound / Richard Müller 

Screening of Negativ films at the 54th KV IFF. 

Let There Be Light

30.6.2019 20:00, Big Hall

30.6.2019 10:30,Congress Hall

1.7.2019 13:00, Pupp

3.7.2019 11:30, Drahomíra Cinema 

A Certain Kind of Silence

2.7.2019 20:30, Cinema A

3.7.2019 18:30, Municipal Theater

4.7.2019 16:30, Spa III

5.7.2019 18:00, Cinema A

6.7.2019 13:30, Husovka Theater 

Over The Hills

1.7.2019 13:30, Cinema C

2.7.2019 15:30, Small Hall

3.7.2019 14:00, Cinema Drahomira

5.7.2019 11:30, Cinema B

6.7.2019 11:00, Cinema C 

Forman vs. Forman

30.6.2019 17:30, Cinema A

1.7.2019 11:30, Great Hall

2.7.2019 13:00, National House

5.7.2019 22:00, Pupp

6.7.2019 13:30, Spa III 

Today starts International Karlovy Vary Film Festival, which is full of Lithuanian accents: in the competition program, there will be several Lithuanian and co-production films, Lithuania has its representation in the jury and the industry event “Work in progress”. This year the biggest Czech cinema festival, which happens in Karlovy Vary tourist town, will surprise its enthusiastic film lovers crowd from the 28th of June till 6th of July. 

Every year, more and more internationally recognized directors’ works are being selected to the festival programme, among others this year Karolis Kaupinis debut feature film „Nova Lituania“ can also be found in the festival program. It is the premiere of the film, which tells the story about Lithuanian interwar geography professor’s efforts to establish a Lithuanian colony overseas. This movie competes with other eleven European films in “East of the West” debut film competition program.

Also, Lithuania’s name will be heard while naming the “East of the West“ jury members, one of them is producer Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė. 

In the Horizons section of Karlovy Vary Festival Latvian-Lithuanian-Belgian-French feature film “Oleg” (co producer Lukas Trimonis, “InScript“) will be presented. The leading actor in Latvian director’s Juris Kursietis film is Lithuanian actor Valentinas Novopolskij. The international premiere of the film happened in this year’s Cannes film festival.

Latvian director’s Laila Pakalnina film “Spoon” which is co-produced by Lithuanian producer  Dagnė Vildžiūnaitė (“Just a moment“) could be seen the documentary competition program. This Lithuanian, Latvian film analyzes human and its evolution, talks about society and its progress while showing the story of the plastic spoon manufacturing. 

The Lithuanian, Georgian, German joint production film “Otar’s death” (director Ioseb Bliadze, co producer Marija Razgutė, “M-Films“) will be presented in the festival's industry program “Work in progress”. 

The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the leading film events in Central and Eastern Europe. One of the oldest A class film festival can be compared for its importance with other famous European festivals: Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Moscow, Warsaw. 

The films which participate in The Karlovy Vary Festival and its film industry program are sponsored by Lithuanian film center.