Benedikt ERLINGSSON, director of the film "Woman at War" and one of the three films running in competition for the Lux Prize 2018, gives an insight view about the endeavour to produce this film.

Brussels

interview

LUX Cinema Prize 2018 (T)

Lux Prize 2018: interview of Benedikt ERLINGSSON "Woman at War"

SOUNDBITE (English), Benedikt ERLINGSSON, Film director, <a></a>Women are often in the front fight of the environmental battle. And in my life women have been always saving the world, starting with my mother and grandmothers, and so on. I am surrounded with matriarchy in that sense in my society, in my country. And it is a reality in many senses. I am a feminist.

SOUNDBITE (English), Benedikt ERLINGSSON, Film director, My film is also a warning call. There is a strange culture of denial and postponing the problem. It&rsquo;s our lifestyle that we have to change and it is a big challenge, but it is not so dark or bad. It&rsquo;s bright, everybody want to change their lifestyle a little bit. And it is a good life, it is a life that will last longer. Less stuff, less travel, less meat, but what we will get will last longer. But we need voters that will vote for politicians who are there to say: &ldquo;Vote for me and I will make sure you will get less of everything&rdquo;. This is a big challenge for a politician. But this is really the challenge of our generation. We are the last generation to do something about this. So this is fundamental thing: react against immediate threat.

SOUNDBITE (English), Benedikt ERLINGSSON, Film director, It&rsquo;s a challenge for all citizens to understand: &ldquo;Wow, if I travel to America, I am five hours on a plane - I am farting six hundred kilos of carbon in the air, it cost me two trees to plant, at least. That will bind these six hundred kilos in forty years or twenty year&rdquo;. So this is a new gospel that we have to learn for the future. We have to be aware of this, but at the same time this has to be made the producer&rsquo;s problem. You know, we can&rsquo;t always point at the consumer. And there we have the Parliament, the politicians, the state to make this the producer&rsquo;s problem because consumers are weak. That&rsquo;s the essence, that&rsquo;s why we have a great capitalistic system to manipulate the consumers.

SOUNDBITE (English), Benedikt ERLINGSSON, Film director, This LUX Prize a phenomenon, it is a phenomenon, because it really goes into the heart of the storytelling and democracy, and politics. Because you can see a storytelling as a kind of preparation for election. And stories, films that have some issues, we are preparing the elections. We are casting light, we are putting new perspective in paradigm of really important issues for the citizens that have to vote, to take decisions for the future. It&rsquo;s very important for them to have some idea, where they are coming from and where they are. So, arts and storytelling and journalism - all this is our collective effort to help us to understand, where we are coming from and where we are, because we are the ones that have to take decision for the future.