Flow wins the 2025 LUX Audience Award
The animated film Flow won the 2025 LUX Audience Award co-organised by the European Parliament. Find out more about the award and the finalists.
The winning film of the 2025 edition was announced during a ceremony in the European Parliament in Brussels on 29 April 2025. Flow is a Latvian, French and Belgian co-production and depicts animals dealing with a catastrophic flood. Earlier in 2025, Flow also received an Oscar for the Best Animated Feature.
The trophy was presented by Nela Riehl, chair of Parliament’s culture and education committee.
In a video message for the ceremony, Parliament Vice-President Sabine Verheyen praised the nominated films competing for the award: “Each of these films goes beyond storytelling. They engage, challenge and inspire action. And this is the essence of the LUX Audience Award: a celebration of cinema that connects people, politics and European values.”
Organised by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas since 2020, the LUX Audience Award combines the ratings of the European public with the ratings of MEPs, each accounting for 50% of the final result.
“A celebration of cinema that connects people, politics and European values”
Flow: a striking animated fantasy film
Director Gints Zilbalodis created an animated fantasy film about surviving the end of the world. Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a flood, he will have to team up with the other animals despite their differences. Sailing through mystical landscapes, they navigate the challenges of adapting to this new world.
The other finalists
Animal (Greece, Austria, Romania, Cyprus, Bulgaria)
Directed by Sofia Exarchou, the film follows Kalia, who leads the entertainers at an all-inclusive resort under the hot Greek sun. As summer progresses and the work pressure builds up, the nights become violent. However, the show must go on.
Dahomey (France, Senegal, Benin)
Director Mati Diop tells the story of 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey about to be returned from Paris to their country of origin, present-day Republic of Benin. Along with thousands of other artefacts, these were taken away by French colonial troops in 1892. But the return of these treasures stirs lively debates among students at the local University of Abomey-Calavi.
Flow (Latvia, France, Belgium)
Director Gints Zilbalodis created an animated fantasy film about surviving the end of the world. Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a flood, he will have to team up with the other animals despite their differences. Sailing through mystical landscapes, they navigate the challenges of adapting to this new world.
Intercepted (Canada, France, Ukraine)
Directed by Oksana Karpovych, this documentary paints a stark picture of how war dehumanises people through thousands of intercepted phone calls Russian soldiers made from the battlefield in Ukraine. The voices of soldiers reveal illusions, loss of reason, doubt, disappointment, war crimes, and the effects of propaganda.
Julie Keeps Quiet (Belgium, Sweden)
This drama by director Leonardo Van Dijl revolves around Julie, the star player at an elite tennis academy. Her coach is suddenly put under investigation and suspended. When all of the club’s players are encouraged to speak up, Julie decides to keep quiet...
The LUX Audience Award
Organised by the European Parliament and the European Film Academy in partnership with the European Commission and Europa Cinemas since 2020, the LUX Audience Award combines the ratings of the European public with the ratings of MEPs, each accounting for 50% of the final result.
The Parliament established the LUX Film Prize in 2007 to help distribute EU films with high artistic quality that reflect cultural diversity in Europe and beyond and that touch on issues of common concern, such as human dignity, equality, non-discrimination, inclusion, tolerance, justice and solidarity.
The Parliament provides subtitles in the 24 EU official languages for all film finalists and organises free screenings in cinemas across Europe until April 2025.
During the 2025 edition, the Award is complemented by the Young Talent Programme to engage young cinema professionals in the promotion of European values and the LUX Audience Award project.
