LUX Prize 2019: in Venice to discuss cultural difference

Here is a short presentation of the three finalists of #PremioLUX 2019 that will be subtitled in the 24 official EU languages and screened in all EU countries during the LUX Film Days in autumn:

- Cold Case Hammarskjöld di 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 Petrunya di Teona Strugar Mitevska
A powerful cinematic work that tells the story of a woman who finds herself in a position that only men have 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.

- The Realm di Rodrigo Sorogoyen
A forceful and adrenaline-charged thriller that grapples  with political corruption, through the demise of a successful politician and his fiefdom, which had looked destined to last forever.

These three films have already been in the spotlight at international film festivals. Cold Case Hammarskjöld world-premiered at Sundance, where it received the World Cinema Documentary Competition Directing Award, God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya world-premiered in competition at the Berlinale, where it picked up the Ecumenical Jury Prize, and The Realm world-premiered in competition at San Sebastián, before going on to win seven Spanish Goyas.
The films in competition and the topics covered show once again the creative variety of European cinema. In this selection there is a wide range of film styles: a documentary (this is the third time in the history of the LUX Prize that a documentary is selected among the finalists), a social drama with hints of comedy, And one political thriller. Once again a woman’s work is presented, directing a film that opens up the debate - indispensable and current - on the presence of women in the social, political and religious spheres.