Brussels, 22/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament Cinema Prize LUX 2008 has been awarded to the film “Le Silence de Lorna” (Belgium, United Kingdom, France and Italy), directed by brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne. The award ceremony, chaired by Hans-Gert Pöttering, was held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday 22 October. “This prize is very important because European cinema faces lots of difficulties against the US giant, but there is also a problem among European countries because we don't see enough of each other's films … This prize is the first step in remedying this problem,” the Dardenne brothers said after the ceremony. The aim of the LUX Prize, which was awarded for the first time in 2007, is to break down the language barriers that prevent European films from circulating in the EU. The winning film, with MEPs having the final vote, will be subtitled in the European Union's 23 official languages, allowing it unrivalled circulation throughout Europe. Three films were drawn from an official selection of 10 films, made by panel from the cinema profession. To be eligible, films must illustrate the universality of European values and/or the diversity of European culture and/or bring insights into the debate on the process of building Europe. The other two films in competition with “Le Silence de Lorna” were “Delta”, by Kornél Mundruczó (Hungary and Germany) and “Obcan Havel”, by Miroslave Janek and Pavel Koutecký. Last year, the LUX Prize was awarded to “Auf der anderen Seite”, by Fatih Akin. (I.L./transl.rt)