On Wednesday 27 November, the European Parliament awarded the LUX Cinema Prize to the film God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija, which tells the story of a young woman's feminist struggle in North Macedonia.
"Our Parliament is the only one in the world to award a film prize. We should be proud of this. Long live freedom of expression, long live European cinema and long live the LUX Prize”, commented the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, at the time of the announcement.
The LUX Prize aims to promote European cinema, and make promising films accessible to a wider audience, while encouraging debate on values and social issues across Europe.
God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija is a co-production between North Macedonia, Belgium, Slovenia, Croatia and France. Directed by Teona Strugar Mitevska, it tells the story of a young woman who, while competing in the Orthodox Epiphany ceremony, manages to catch the Holy Cross before all the other men. “This film therefore contributes to the feminist struggle and the fight against conservative societies”, states the European Parliament on its website.
The other two films selected for the 2019 award were the documentary Cold Case Hammarskjöld by Danish director Mads Brügger, and the political thriller El Reino by Rodrigo Sorogoyen. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)