The jury of the Berlinale, like the famous Berlin Film Festivalchaired by the American actress Kristen Stewart and with the Spanish director Carla Simón in his team, he presented the official awards of the 73rd edition this Saturday.
The jackpot, the golden bearit was for “social” cinema, through the documentary Sur l’Adamanton a psychiatric center, by the Frenchman Nicholas Philibert.
In this edition of the festival, without a doubt, the absolute queen was Sofía Otero, the girl who embodies the defense of sexual diversity in Spanish film 20,000 species of bees.
Argentina competed in six categoriesand was the winner in two: Best Debut Award with Inside of me I’m dancing by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann, and the CICAE prize in the Forum section with the face of the jellyfishby Melissa Liebenthal.
The Golden Bear
The top prize at the Berlinale went to French director Nicholas Philibertes’ film, a decision many have called incomprehensible and likely attributed to an alleged lack of leadership by the president of the jury, American actress Kristen Stewart.
Sur l’Adamantthe award-winning film was not among the favorites of the critics following the festival and was received as a mere exhibition or succession of patients from the said day care center, a barge in the middle of the Seine, in the heart of Paris.
silver bears
TO Roter Himmelsixth film with which the German Christoph Petzold participated in the Berlinale, has reserved the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, when the highest award was being considered for that film. And the Mexican remained outside the winners list Totem by Lila Avilés, like the Japanese animated film suzumeby Makoto Shinkai, both were enthusiastically received at the festival.
On stage at the Berlinale Palast, Sofía Otero more than compensated for the disagreements that the jury’s list of winners could generate.
“To my father, Fernando Otero, the best father in the whole world,” proclaimed the young actress, as the film crew and her relatives in the hall shared laughter and tears. “To my mother, to my brothers…” Sofía continued.
The homage to the father, beyond the tender or anecdotal, is part of Urresola’s film: an immersion in a family from the Basque Country, confronted with the transsexuality of Aitor, the boy who does not identify himself not even with that name nor with the given genus name.
He Silver Bear to Sofía Otero it was a courage award for Urresola, whose film is her debut. The other Silver Bear for acting, in this case for a supporting role, went to German Thea Ehre as a transsexual recently released from prison in Bis ans Ende der Nacht – “Until the end of the nightby Christopher Hochhausler.
Cinema of Spain and Latin America
Spanish and Latin American cinema also shone in sections such as Encounters, aimed at new creators: the echo, by Mexican Tatiana Huezo, won the award for best documentary and also to best direction of that section.
Spaniard Lois Patiño got the Dating Jury Prize Of samsarawhile the prize for best debut Of all the sections of the Berlinale it was for Argentina Inside of me I’m dancingby Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann.
The Spanish director, living in France, Paul B. Preciado got a special mention by the Encounters juryas well as the prize for Teddy awards the best documentaryoriented towards the LGTBI collective.
The judge
The 73rd edition of the Berlinale was the fourth with the Italian Carlo Chatrian and the Dutch Mariette Rissenbeck at the head of the two-faced management of the festival, which has also recovered all its formats after the restrictions of previous years due to the pandemic.
They chose a jury composed of five women and two men: together with Stewart and Simon, the Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, the German director Valeska Grisebach and the American Francine Maisler, as well as the Romanian director Radu Jude and his Chinese colleague Johnnie To , they made the team.
Whatever discussions the winners’ list might generate, Chatrian and Rissenbeck have achieved in their fourth year a selection of 19 films for the competition of high or sufficiently high quality -with some exceptions-.
Arthouse cinema dominated entertainment. And once again the goal of filling theaters in different areas of Berlin has been achieved, with around 400 films in the different sections of the festival and for a festival that prides itself on being popular, compared to the star-studded lineup that characterizes Cannes.
The list of winners
Below is the list of the official awards of the Competition and Meetings, section dedicated to new cinematographic languages, as well as other important awards.
- Golden Bear: “Sur l’Adamant”, by Nicholas Philibert (France, Japan)
- Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: “Roter Himmel”, by Christian Petzold (Germany)
- Silver Bear Jury Award: “Mal viver”, Joao Canijo (Portugal)
- Silver Bear for Best Director: Philippe Garrel, for “Le grand Chariot” (France)
- Silver Bear for Best Lead Performance: Sofía Otero, for “20,000 species of bees”, by Estíbaliz Urresola (Spain)
- Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Thea Ehre, for “Bis ans Ende der Nacht” -“Till the End of the night”, by Christopher Hochhäusler (Germany)
- Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: “Music”, by Angela Schanelec (Germany, France, Serbia)
- Silver Bear for Artistic Contribution: “Disco Boy”, by Giacomo Abbruzzese (France, Italy, Poland, Belgium)
- Best Dating Film Award: “Here”, by Bas Devos (Belgium)
- Encounters Best Director Award: “The Echo”, by Tatiana Huezo (Mexico)
- Special Prize of the Encounters Jury: “Samsara”, by Lois Patiño (Spain)
- Best Documentary Award: “The Echo”, by Tatiana Huezo (Mexico)
- Award for best first film: “Inside of me I’m dancing”, by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann (Argentina)
- Golden Bear for Best Short Film: “Les chinilles”, Michelle and Noel Keserwany (France)
- Crystal Bear from Generation 14Plus section: “Adolfo”, by Sofía Auza (Mexico)
- Award of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI): “The Survival of Kindness”, Rolf de Heer (Australia)
- Teddy Award for Best Documentary: “Orlando, my political biography”, by Paul B. Preciado (France)
- Guild Award for Art and Theater Film: “20,000 species of bees”, by Estíbaliz Urresola (Spain)
- Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: “Totem”, by Lila Avilés (Mexico)
- Readers’ Award of the Berliner Morgenpost:”20,000 species of bees”, by Estíbaliz Urresola (Spain)
- Tagesspiegel Readers Award: “Orlando, my political biography”, by Paul B. Preciado (France)
- CICAE Award, Forum section: “The face of the jellyfish”, by Melisa Liebenthal (Argentina).
EFE extension
Source: Clarin
