March 30, 2026

LUX Audience Award: Vote for the Best European Film of the Year

A traditional highlight of the Days of European Film is the competition for the LUX Audience Award, a prestigious prize presented by the European Parliament in cooperation with audiences across Europe. It is the largest European audience film award, supporting European cinema, cultural diversity, and public debate on pressing social issues.

This year, five outstanding films have been nominated. You can vote until 12 April 2026 (end of the day) on the official LUX Award website. Your vote carries the same weight as that of a Member of the European Parliament (50/50 split). Among all voters, several lucky winners will be drawn, with attractive prizes including a trip to Brussels for the award ceremony on 14 April 2026.

At this year’s Days of European Film, you can see several of the nominated titles on the big screen — the perfect opportunity to watch them and then rate your favourites.

Sentimental Value (Norway/Denmark/France/Germany, dir. Joachim Trier)

The latest film from acclaimed Norwegian director Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World). A sensitive family drama about sibling relationships, the weight of the past, and the attempt at reconciliation. Emotionally profound and strikingly contemporary, it is one of the main favourites of the season.

Christy (Ireland/United Kingdom, dir. Brendan Canty)

The story of a seventeen-year-old boy who is thrown out of foster care and has to move in with his estranged older brother. A raw, authentic, and powerfully acted drama about adolescence, family, and the search for home on the margins of society. Brendan Canty’s feature debut won the Grand Prix in the Berlinale Generation 14plus section.

Deaf (Sorda, Spain, dir. Eva Libertad)

An intimate and deeply sensitive story of a deaf woman, Ángela, who is expecting a child with her hearing partner. The film explores questions of identity, communication, and parenthood from a perspective rarely seen in cinema.

Love Me Tender (France, dir. Anna Cazenave Cambet)

An adaptation of Constance Debré’s book. After a breakup, a forty-year-old woman loses custody of her son when she openly embraces her relationships with women. A bold, personal, and uncompromising drama about motherhood, sexuality, and societal expectations.

The film It Was Just an Accident (Iran/France/Luxembourg, dir. Jafar Panahi) is part of the nominations but will not be screened at the festival. It is the new work by the legendary Iranian director Jafar Panahi (Taxi Tehran, 3 Faces), offering a powerful and provocative story that once again critically examines Iranian reality and issues of freedom and justice.

What these films have in common is their ability to address important contemporary themes — family, identity, marginalised groups, freedom, and human vulnerability — in an accessible and emotionally resonant way.

How to vote?

Watch the films at the cinema during the festival (9–19 April) and then rate each of them on a scale of 1–5 stars at lux-award.europarl.europa.eu.

Which of the nominated films spoke to you the most? You can find the detailed screening schedule and the direct link to voting on eurofilmfest.cz.

The festival runs from 9 to 19 April 2026 in Prague, Brno, Ostrava, and other cities. Come, watch, and help decide the winner!