Free Mayo film screenings as part of European Parliament's LUX Audience Awards

THE European Parliament Liaison Office in Ireland is partnering with the W Cinema in Westport and Club Scannán Sailearna in Galway to present free showings of films shortlisted for the 2024 LUX Audience Award.

The LUX Audience Award aims to strengthen ties between politics and the people by inviting European audiences to become active protagonists and rate their favourite films in order to help determine the winner. The films are being screened and rated by audiences throughout the EU.

All five short-listed films are subtitled by the European Parliament in the 24 official languages of the EU, and will be screened across Europe and beyond.

All five films are critically acclaimed and have each been nominated for and won numerous prizes at film festivals around the world.

Audiences are invited to rate the LUX Audience Award films: five stars ‘excellent’ to one star ‘poor’. The rating platform is at https://rating.luxaward.eu/en/ and is open until April 14, with the winning film to be announced at a ceremony in the European Parliament in Brussels on April 16.

The screenings represent an excellent opportunity to see locally some of the most acclaimed films European films of the past year. They will be of particular interest to those interested in international films and languages.

Chris MacManus, MEP for Midlands-North-West, said: “I am delighted that LUX film screenings will be taking place in Westport and Connemara. LUX film awards are a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best of European cinema to a wider audience and I commend the organisers who are bringing these screenings to Westport and Connemara.

“I am particularly pleased that subtitles as Gaeilge will be provided for viewers in Club Scannán Sailearna, Connemara. This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the cultural diversity across the EU.”

All are welcome to these free-of-charge screenings (subject only to theatre capacity).

THREE MAYO DATES

Three films will be screened at the W Cinema in Westport. Free tickets are available at https://www.thewcinema.com/.

20,000 Species of Bees: February 20, 8.30 p.m.

Lucía is an eight-year-old girl, who struggles as the world tries to catch up with the fact that she is trans. As the summer holidays pass, she explores her femininity alongside the women of her family who at the same time reflect on their own femininity.

The film is critically acclaimed, and has won and been nominated for numerous awards at film festivals around the world including:

On the Adamant: February 27, 8.30 p.m.

The Adamant is a unique day-care centre. A floating structure located on the Seine in the heart of Paris, it welcomes adults suffering from mental disorders, offering the kind of care that grounds them in time and space and helps them to recover or keep up their spirits.

The team running it tries to resist the deterioration and dehumanisation of psychiatry as best as they can. The film invites us to board it and meet the patients and caregivers who invent its life day to day.

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood: March 5, 8.30 p.m.

Women share their innermost secrets and intimate experiences inside an Estonian smoke sauna. Cleansing their bodies and baring their souls, they embrace the healing power of sisterhood.