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Gender discussion and the LUX Prize

Gender discussion and the LUX Prize

The European Parliament’s LUX Prize ceremony took place on 24 November 2015 during the Parliament’s Strasbourg plenary session.  It was followed by a press seminar, moderated by MEP and LUX Prize coordinator Doris Pack.

The first panel of the seminar, “Cinema Education, or the need to lay the foundations of a common language via European cinema”, featured acclaimed filmmaker and Cinémathèque Française president Costa Gavras, MEP Bogdan Wenta and director Petar Valchanov.

The second panel, “LUX Prize: topical films as a tool for cultural diplomacy”, welcomed MEPs Elmar Brok and Silvia Costa (whom the EWA Network had the pleasure of meeting during the presentation of our research in Venice), as well as the three directors of the films nominated for the prize.

Lastly, a panel on gender equality in the audiovisual industry, “A not very (gender) balanced endeavour”, brought together the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Ulrike Lunacek, MEP Julie Ward, EWA Network director Francine Ravenay, The Lesson’s lead actress Margita Gosheva giving their insights on the topic. The LUX Prize winner, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, unfortunately, was unable to stay for the debate .

All of the participants shared a common concern: the lower and unequal representation of women in the European film industry. Lunacek encouraged the audience to confront traditional roles and gender depictions in movies, while Ward and Raveney focused on the absence of female professionals in the decision-making processes, showing illustrative data and examples from their own experience. “It is really necessary to promote women in every industry sector, so we should discuss what can be done from the Parliament,” as Lunacek stated.