The finalists gained both publicity and enhanced prospects for worldwide distribution through having their films subtitled into the official 24 European languages as part of the award process.

The first LUX Prize was awarded to Turkish-born German director Fatih Akin, for his film The Edge of Heaven.

[3] The producers of the ten shortlisted films are required to provide digital copies in the form of DVDs, Vimeo link, or OpenDCP for the members of the European Parliament.

In 2015, the shortlisted Son of Saul was disqualified when the production team refused to provide this, fearing that the film copies would be pirated.

[4] Partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, changes were announced to the name, the selection process and the timetabling of the LUX Award in September 2020.

[7] The new format was announced by Sabine Verheyen, chair of the Culture Committee, at the 77th Venice International Film Festival.

[8] There would henceforth be five nominees competing for the award, which would all be subtitled in 24 European languages, but due to the impact of the pandemic on the film industry, only three would be nominated for the first edition of the new format.

The jury would remain similar, but the winner would be selected jointly by MEPs and the public, with each contributing 50 per cent towards the final vote.

The winning film will be announced at the LUX Award Ceremony on 9 June 2021,[11] during a plenary sitting of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, as in previous editions.