December 31, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

L'ENFANT wins 9th John Templeton European Film of the Year Award

The film "L'Enfant" by Belgian directors Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne is the winner of the John Templeton European Film of the Year Award 2005. The Award is presented on behalf of the US-based John Templeton Foundation by the International Church Film Organisation INTERFILM and the Conference of European Churches, and is chosen by an international jury. It carries the sum of € 10,000.- and a certificate of recognition. The winner is selected from the Ecumenical Awards given at international film festivals and the "Film of the Month" nominations of the Evangelical Film Juy in Germany and of the Catholic Media Service and the Reformed Media in Switzerland during the past year.

"L'Enfant" tells the story of Bruno, Sonia and their newly-born son Jimmy, who live in socially deprived circumstances and gain their income from her social benefits and Bruno's petty larceny. In a thoughtless moment Bruno sells the child for adoption. The devastating consequences of this for Sonia and for their relationship brings Bruno step by step to learn what it means to grow up. The values highlighted by the jury include Bruno's remorse and growing sense for responsibility, Sonia's forgiveness and their mutual reconciliation. Avoiding artificial filmmaking and using only background noise, the absence of music, realistic dialogue, direct camera work and a purity of acting go towards making this excellent film, the explanation for the award goes.

The award ceremony will take place during this year's Berlin Film Festival on Sunday, February 12, 16.30h during a service in the Französische Friedrichstadtkirche. The film will be shown beforehand in a special screening at the Hacke'sche Hoefe (14.00h). "L'Enfant" won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival 2005 and was chosen as the November 2005 "Film of the Month" by the Evangelical Film Jury in Germany.

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For more information:
Karsten Visarius, c/o Gemeinschaftswerk
der Evangelischen Publizistik
Emil-von-Behring-Str. 3, D-60394 Frankfurt a.M.
Tel.: +49-69-58098-155, Fax: +49-69-58098-274
Email: gepfilm@gep.de, http://www.inter-film.org

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