French 'Welcome' 2009 Lux Prize

The annual award for fiction or animation films that help illustrate the values of the European identity has been awarded in Strasbourg.
The Lux Prize - presented by the European Parliament and described as a young and forward-thinking initiative - was put in place to spark debate on subjects that attract public attention within the EU Member States.
This year's European Parliament Lux Film Prize has been awarded to the film Welcome by the French director Philippe Lioret. The film received the majority of EP members' votes.
Set in Calais, France, the film follows a swimming instructor who chooses to help out a young Kurdish refugee who needs to swim across the English Channel to join his girlfriend.
The prize, worth around €87,000, will finance the subtitling of the winning film in all 23 European Union official languages. It will also go towards the adaptation of the original version for the visually, or hearing-impaired, the production of a 35mm print and will contribute to the DVD release.
The aim is to help break down language barriers that too often hinder the circulation of films throughout Europe. It also helps raise societal issues which are at the very heart of the European public debate, or in the case of Welcome, draw attention to immigration and fundamental freedoms.
During the award ceremony EP President Jerzy Buzek said: "This year's winner meets that challenge in its own particular way. Philippe Lioret's Welcome takes us into the world of immigrants in Europe and their hopes for a better future.
"This is an issue both important and relevant to society, one to which we cannot remain indifferent."
The finalists, along with Welcome, were Eastern Plays by Kamen Kalev (Bulgaria, Sweden) and Sturm by Hans-Christian Schmid (Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands).
For more information visit www.lux-prize.eu
(BMcN/BMcc)