The LUX Audience Award will once again be presented to a European film in spring 2026. R&A spoke with Marjo Pipinen, winner of the LUX prize trip, and Claire Delhom, Finland’s LUX Young Talent representative, about the significance of the award and why each of us should rate the films we watch.
Competing for the 2026 LUX Audience Award are Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident and Deaf, which were screened at Love & Anarchy, along with Love Me Tender and Christy. The LUX nominees are recent European films that address current social and political issues and reflect the diversity of European cinema.
Viewers can choose the winner by rating the films they have seen on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. By rating films, participants can win prizes, including a trip to Brussels to attend the LUX Award ceremony.
Last year, Marjo Pipinen was one of ten lucky winners who travelled to Brussels as part of the Citizens’ Delegation. “It was quite a fun surprise,” Pipinen laughs. “When I got the email, I checked very carefully whether it was a scam.”
Pipinen works as a communications specialist at the Finnish Film Foundation and has long been a member of the R&A Ministry. “It was a really nice trip,” she says. “We had a great and very international group.”
Among the winners were people from the cultural and film sectors across Europe. “It reflects who is generally aware that such an award exists and ends up voting,” Pipinen notes. “In countries where the nominated films come from, voting is probably more active. It would be interesting to know whether there were more voters from Finland in the year when Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves was nominated.”
The programme included a visit to the EU museum and meetings with filmmakers behind the nominated films. “Not all the directors were present, but each film had some representatives—for example, the composer of Flow was there,” Pipinen says.
The ceremony took place in Brussels in the chamber where the European Parliament holds its votes. “It was a really cool feeling,” Pipinen recalls. Last year, the LUX Audience Award was won by the Latvian animated film Flow, which had its Finnish premiere at R&A.
Some of the raffle winners also went on stage during the ceremony to present awards to the nominees and the winner. “I was there presenting a plaque to the Belgian film Julie Keeps Quiet, which I had actually rated myself, so that was really nice,” Pipinen says. “Later, I also spoke with the film’s director, Leonardo Van Dijl. He was really nice.”
During her trip, Pipinen also explored the city. “Before leaving, I had some free time in Brussels, so I visited the front door of Jeanne Dielman,” she recalls. The film, directed by Chantal Akerman and often considered one of the greatest films of all time, was shot on Quai du Commerce in Brussels. “There was a plaque on the wall. The film was apparently actually shot at that address.”
For Pipinen, the trip was a rewarding experience. “In a way, it strengthened a sense of EU citizenship identity. It’s a massive democratic project,” she says. “It was great to meet people from different places and talk about films.”
What is the LUX Audience Award?
Claire Delhom, Executive Producer at R&A, represents Finland this year in the LUX Young Talent programme, which brings together young European film professionals. In the autumn, she attended the nominee announcement event in Strasbourg and in March opened the popular LUX Film Days free screenings at Helsinki’s Kino Regina, where the nominated films were shown.
“The LUX Audience Award highlights films that carry European values: freedom of expression, democracy, and social themes. It is specifically an audience award, with the winner decided by citizens—by all of us—together with Members of the European Parliament,” Delhom explains. “It is also a democratic process: a major film can be nominated alongside a much smaller one.”
This year’s nominees include the Oscar-winning Sentimental Value and the Palme d’Or–winning It Was Just an Accident, alongside less internationally recognised films such as Deaf, Christy, and Love Me Tender.
“Even if the films may already have won awards, they are often not the biggest productions, but ones that deserve more visibility,” Pipinen notes.
A LUX nomination itself is a mark of quality. “I would go see any of them, because you can trust they are good films,” Pipinen recommends. “It’s a great way to discover high-quality European cinema.”
Film democracy
The LUX Audience Award differs from other European film awards in that the EU inhabitants choose the winner. “By voting, we support shared European stories and diversity. It is a value-based award—it’s not just a brand or a label, it stands for values,” Delhom reflects.
“The award is important because it sends a message that European cinema and filmmakers matter and deserve their place. If we show that film matters to us, funding will follow. I see rating films as a democratic act, like voting in elections,” she continues.
“One of the big challenges in Europe is how European films circulate,” Pipinen says. “We Europeans watch a lot of American films and films from our own countries, but the share of European films remains quite small. All kinds of awards and campaigns that help raise their profile are very valuable.”
“That is also why R&A joined the LUX campaign,” Delhom adds. “European cinema has always been strongly represented in the festival programme. Three of this year’s nominees were screened at R&A last autumn. R&A consistently supports European cinema. At a time when Finnish film funding is decreasing, it is especially important to send a message to Europe that European cinema must be supported.”
Pipinen emphasises that you do not need to see all the nominated films in order to rate them. “Even if you have only seen one of them, it is worth rating it so that the best film can win.”
“By voting, you can send a message about what kind of films you want to see and what you consider valuable,” Delhom concludes. The 2026 LUX Audience Award nominees can be rated on the official platform until 12 April.
Inari Ylinen