The 2010 LUX Prize goes to Die Fremde

The European Parliament's 2010 LUX Prizehas been awarded to the German film Die Fremde (When We Leave),directed by Feo Aladag, which highlights the problem of 'honour killings' through the story of a Turkish family living in Germany. The European Parliament's President Jerzy Buzek awarded the prize to Aladag, the first woman ever to compete for the prize, in a ceremony also attended by the film's lead actress Sibel Kekilli. Also in attendance were representatives of the two other finalists for this year's prize: Akadimia Platonos (Plato's Academy),directed by Filippos Tsitos (Greece and Germany) and Illégalby Olivier Masset-Depasse (Belgium).

The European Parliament awards the annual LUX Prize to films that illustrate or question the founding values of European identity, explore Europe's cultural diversity or contribute insights to the EU integration debate. Awarding the prize, Buzek said that each of the three finalist films "deal in a very sensitive way with the issue of identity, and the differences between a collective identity and an individual one. This is an important topic because in an ever more integrated Europe we will have to answer the question what it actually means to be European, and what our many identities - local, regional, national and European - mean in a united continent. If we want to create a true European demos, we have to be able to truly understand each other. What better way than through culture, art, music and, of course, film?"

Receiving the prize, Aladag said: "I made Die Fremdebecause I believe we live in a multicultural society which can no longer rest on promoting consensus but must find new ways to deal with arising divergence. The LUX Prize is an essential bridge between national identities and beyond. That is why, for me, the European Parliament's commitment to culture and education is of such great importance."

Die Fremdehas received European Parliament funding, worth 90,000, to be subtitled into all official EU languages, and be adapted for visually- or hearing-impaired people. A 35mm print of the film will also be produced for every EU Member State.

Since its launch in 2007, every winner of the LUX Prize has been supported by the MEDIA Programme: Auf der anderen Seite (The Edge of Heaven)directed by Fatih Akin (2007); Le silence de Lorna (Lorna's Silence), directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (2008) and Welcomeby Philippe Lioret (2009). 2010 is therefore the fourth year running that the LUX Prize has been awarded to a MEDIA-funded film. Die Fremde (When We Leave)had received MEDIA distribution funding, and won the MEDIA-supported Europa Cinema Label at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival.