Ukrainian Documentary “Peaceful People” Nominated for 2025 LUX Audience Award
Ukrainian filmmaker Oksana Karpovych’s powerful documentary “Peaceful People” has been nominated for the 2025 LUX Audience Award, a major European film prize that highlights socially impactful cinema.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukrainian media.
Organized by the European Parliament, the European Film Academy, the European Commission, and Europa Cinemas, the award invites both Members of the European Parliament and the general public to vote for the winner. Public voting is open until April 27, with the official award ceremony set for April 29.
The LUX Audience Award seeks to amplify European films that tackle critical social, cultural, and political issues. By bridging audiences across borders, the initiative fosters deeper conversations about Europe’s future and identity through the lens of cinema.
Since its inception in 2007, the European Parliament’s film prize has evolved considerably. In 2020, it was reshaped into the LUX Audience Award, placing equal voting power in the hands of both the public and EU lawmakers. The award’s name, derived from the Latin word for “light”, symbolizes its mission to bring important stories to the forefront of public discourse.
Every year, five films are selected by a panel of cinema professionals approved by the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education. The LUX Audience Award 2025 nominees are "Animal”, “Dahomey”, "Flow”, "Peaceful People”, and "Julie Keeps Quiet”.
In “Peaceful People”, Karpovych captures the altered reality of Ukrainian towns and cities ravaged by war. The film juxtaposes still imagery of destruction with intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families, revealing a disturbing normalization of violence and dehumanization.
The director sifted through over 31 hours of recorded conversations. – sourced from publicly available intelligence – to select excerpts for the film.
Having screened across Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, and Australia, “Peaceful People” has garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards. Karpovych said the LUX nomination had significantly broadened the film’s reach in Europe.
"If we win, it will create new opportunities to advance discussions on Russian terrorism and war crimes," she noted. Karpovych will personally attend the awards ceremony in Brussels, calling it "an important moment to remind European leaders and citizens that peace in Ukraine requires Europe’s ongoing engagement."
As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukrainian director Pavlo Ostrikov's film “U Are the Universe” has won in two nominations at the French festival Hallucinations Collectives in Lyon, France.