2014 Lux Prize Winner

On December 17 the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, in the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg announced the winner of the LUX Prize and as expected by many, outstanding Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski got the European cinema honor.

Since the very moment I saw this film, I was highly impressed by the breathtaking cinematography that in conjunction with a striking story blew my mind; still recall my friend telling me (not asking) that he was sure I loved the movie as according to him, this was my kind of movie. He was right. For me, the icing on the cake is that film has been winning the big awards in this year awards season and know that its award winning streak has not ended yet.




The prize, decided on the basis of a vote by the Members of the European Parliament, is intended to celebrate the diversity and the social relevance of cinema in Europe. “The finalists of today have a very specific context. And they give us a hint of what is happening around us, giving us Europeans the feeling that we are more united,” remarked Schulz. After the selection of three finalists, Ida has finally been picked out as the best example of this.

Pawlikowski's journey through the life of a young Polish orphan raised as a nun, who then comes of age by discovering her real identity, presented in splendid and melancholic black-and-white photography, has been widely seen as a way to show the past of the continent coming to terms with its present, and maybe its future.

“Although it was every financier's nightmare, Ida has succeeded in crossing all European borders, reaching audiences from France to Hungary, from the United Kingdom to Malta – which may be the proof that art still has a role to play in cinema today, and that the more personal and specific the film, the less rhetorical and calculating it is – and the more universal its reach,” said Pawlikowski as he received the prize.

As we know the three finalists considered for this award were the following.

Bande de Filles (Girlhood) by Céline Sciamma, France
Ida by Pawel Pwlikowski, Poland
Razredni Sovražnik (Class Enemy) by Rok Biček, Slovenia