In collaboration with the European Parliament Office in Malta, the Citadel Cinema, in Victoria, Gozo, is showing all five films in this year’s edition of the LUX Audience Award.

The films will be shown during the months of January, February and March as below:

Sunday 14th January at 4:00pm – 20,000 Species of Bees

Sunday 28th January at 4:00pm – Fallen Leaves

Sunday 11th February at 4:00pm – On the Adamant

Sunday 25th February at 4:00pm – Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

Sunday 10th March at 4:00pm – The Teacher’s Lounge.

20 000 Species of Bees, by Spanish director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, tells the story of an eight-year-old who is suffering because people keep addressing them in ways that cause discomfort. During a summer in the Basque country, the child confides these worries to relatives and friends. But how can a mother handle her child’s quest for identity when she is herself still dealing with her own ambivalent parental legacy?

In Fallen Leaves by Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, we meet two lonely souls who are searching for the love of their lives: their chance, poignant meeting on a Helsinki night is hampered by alcoholism on his part, lost contact details, and life in general, which has a knack for placing obstacles in the way of people aspiring to attain happiness.

On the Adamant, by French director Nicolas Philibert, is a documentary film zooming in on a unique day care centre: a floating structure located on the Seine in the heart of Paris. It welcomes adults living with mental disorders, offering them care that grounds them in time and space, and helps them to recover or keep up their spirits. The film invites us to get on board and meet the patients and caregivers who bring the centre to life day to day.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by Estonian director Anna Hints follows a group of women that gather in the safe darkness of a smoke sauna to share their innermost thoughts and secrets. Enveloped by a warm, dense heat, they bare all to expel fears and shame trapped in their bodies and regain their strength.

The Teachers’ Lounge, directed by Ilker Çatak and produced in Germany, tells a story about Carla, a young high school teacher, distinguished from her colleagues by her idealism. When a series of unsolved thefts sour the atmosphere among the teaching staff, Carla decides to investigate. With the help of a hidden camera and to everyone’s surprise, she exposes the thief but her revelation unleashes forces that slide steadily out of control and presents Carla with an unsolvable dilemma.

To view trailers of each film and to book a seat, please see the Citadel Cinema website by clicking here.

The five finalist films are subtitled in the 24 official EU languages and free screenings are organised by the European Parliament in all 27 EU countries.

Viewers are then invited to vote for their favourite movie by the 14th of April 2024 and get the opportunity to win a range of exciting prizes, including a trip to the European Parliament in Brussels to attend the LUX Audience Award ceremony on the 16th of April 2024, thus meeting the directors and film crews of the nominees for the prize.

Rate the films here after watching them: https://rating.luxaward.eu/en/

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