"Welcome to Europe! Linking the EU Parliament LUX Film Prize and the Impact of Migration Films to the Emergence of a European Public Sphere

Migration films represent an emerging genre of filmmaking that is increasingly influencing European citizens and policymakers alike. These films act as a political, social and cultural vehicle, which facilitate public debates on issues of migration. It is through them that we are able to deconstruct negative attitudes about illegal migrants and how they fit into an increasingly cosmopolitan and diverse Europe. The EU Parliament has played a unique role in this process. In 2008, it created the LUX Film Prize, an annual award that recognizes European films that embody European traditions, values and integration. In 2009, it awarded the prize to French Director Philippe Lioret's film Welcome, the story of a Kurdish migrant in France hoping to reach Britain by swimming the English Channel. Despite its fictional scope, it was highly politicized and controversial due to the critical approach that it took vis-à-vis French asylum and refugee policies, specifically the L622-1 law that prohibits French citizens from providing assistance to illegal migrants. Following the European Commission's public acknowledgement for the need to involve citizens across the EU in debates on European issues, I argue that with the advent of the LUX Prize, the EU Parliament has created an innovative medium to foster debate and discussion on matters of migration within a wider European Public Sphere. Furthermore, it has provided a platform for those outside the political landscape to help shape public discourse and narratives on migration, thus reinforcing a more inclusive European civic participation on matters affecting them as citizens.