Often among the lesser lights of European cinema, Hungary ran out top bear at the Berlinale awards events this year. Ildikó Enyedi’s Testről és lélekről/On Body and Soul (pictured, top) ended the festival clutching four awards including the top prize of the Golden Bear for Best Film.
Many of the decisions by the International Jury, which was led by Paul Verhoeven, were considered surprising by journalists attending the festival.
Among the winners was Korean actress Kim Min-hee, last year awarded for her turn in Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden. Kim won Best Actress in Berlin for Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja/On the Beach at Night Alone by Hong Sangsoo, for whose 2015 Right Now, Wrong Then the actress was also awarded.
None of the NZ titles selected for the festival picked up awards, but there were positive reviews for all. The Hollywood Reporter review of Jackie van Beek’s The Inland Road called the film “a minor-key journey that yields gentle rewards”. Screen Daily declared Tusi Tamasese’s One Thousand Ropes “A wounded soul laid bare”, while The Hollywood Reporter named Poi E among the hidden gems of the festival.
Daniel Borgman, whose Berlinale-premiered The Weight of Elephants was a significant driver for NZ and Denmark signing a co-pro treaty in 2014, returned to the Berlinale this year with feature Loving Elsa. Borgman was also one of three writer-directors selected for the festival’s 2015 residency programme.
Screen Daily called Pia “an easy film to like”. Borgman was also interviewed for The Upcoming.
The Berlinale ran 9 – 19 February. The award winners were:
PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST FILM
Testről és lélekről/On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi
SILVER BEAR GRAND JURY PRIZE
Félicité by Alain Gomis
SILVER BEAR ALFRED BAUER PRIZE
Pokot/Spoor by Agnieszka Holland
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Aki Kaurismäki for Toivon tuolla puolen/The Other Side of Hope
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS
Kim Minhee in Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja/On the Beach at Night Alone by Hong Sangsoo
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR
Georg Friedrich in Helle Nächte/Bright Nights by Thomas Arslan
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST SCREENPLAY
Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza for Una mujer fantástica/A Fantastic Woman by Sebastián Lelio
SILVER BEAR FOR OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION
Dana Bunescu for the editing in Ana, mon amour by Călin Peter Netzer
GWFF BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD
Estiu 1993/Summer 1993 by Carla Simón
GLASHÜTTE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Istiyad Ashbah/Ghost Hunting by Raed Andoni
PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM JURY
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Cidade Pequena/Small Town by Diogo Costa Amarante
SILVER BEAR JURY PRIZE (SHORT FILM)
Ensueño en la Pradera/Reverie in the Meadow by Esteban Arrangoiz Julien
AUDI SHORT FILM AWARD
Street of Death by Karam Ghossein
Special Mention: Centauro/Centaur by Nicolás Suárez
BERLIN SHORT FILM NOMINEE FOR THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
Os Humores Artificiais/The Artificial Humours by Gabriel Abrantes
PRIZES OF THE JURIES GENERATION
Children’s Jury Generation Kplus
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film
Piata loď/Little Harbour by Iveta Grófová
SPECIAL MENTION
Amelie rennt/Mountain Miracle – An Unexpected Friendship by Tobias Wiemann
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film
Promise by Xie Tian
SPECIAL MENTION
Hedgehog’s Home by Eva Cvijanovic
International Jury Generation Kplus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY
Becoming Who I Was by Chang-Yong Moon and Jin Jeon
ex aequo
Estiu 1993/Summer 1993 by Carla Simón
THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION KPLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY
Aaba/Grandfather by Amar Kaushik
SPECIAL MENTION
Sabaku by Marlies van der Wel
Youth Jury Generation 14plus
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Film
Butterfly Kisses by Rafael Kapelinski
SPECIAL MENTION
Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau/Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves by Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie
CRYSTAL BEAR for the Best Short Film
Wolfemby by Claire Randall
SPECIAL MENTION
SNIP by Terril Calder
International Jury Generation 14plus
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY
Shkola nomer 3/School Number 3 by Yelizaveta Smith and Georg Genoux
SPECIAL MENTION
Ben Niao/The Foolish Bird by Huang Ji and Ryuji Otsuka
THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE GENERATION 14PLUS INTERNATIONAL JURY
The Jungle Knows You Better Than You Do by Juanita Onzaga
SPECIAL MENTION
U Plavetnilo/Into the Blue by Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović
PRIZES OF INDEPENDENT JURIES
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY
Competition
Testről és lélekről/On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi
Special Mention: Una mujer fantástica/A Fantastic Woman by Sebastián Lelio
Panorama
Tahqiq fel djenna/Investigating Paradise by Merzak Allouache
Special Mention: I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck
Forum
Maman Colonelle/Mama Colonel by Dieudo Hamadi
Special Mention: El mar la mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki
PRIZES OF THE FIPRESCI JURY
Competition
Testről és lélekről/On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi
Panorama
Pendular by Julia Murat
Forum
Shu’our akbar min el hob/A Feeling Greater Than Love by Mary Jirmanus Saba
GUILD FILM PRIZE
The Party by Sally Potter
CICAE ART CINEMA AWARD
Panorama
Centaur by Aktan Arym Kubat
Forum
Newton by Amit V Masurkar
LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS
Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw
TEDDY AWARD
Best Feature Film
Una mujer fantástica/A Fantastic Woman by Sebastián Lelio
Best Documentary/Essay Film
Ri Chang Dui Hua/Small Talk by Hui-chen Huang
Best Short Film
Min Homosyster/My Gay Sister by Lia Hietala
Special Jury Award
Karera ga Honki de Amu toki wa/Close-Knit by Naoko Ogigami
Special Teddy Award
Monika Treut
CALIGARI FILM PRIZE
El mar la mar by Joshua Bonnetta and J.P. Sniadecki
PEACE FILM PRIZE
El Pacto de Adriana/Adriana’s Pact by Lissette Orozco
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE
La libertad del diablo/Devil’s Freedom by Everardo González (Berlinale Special)
HEINER CAROW PRIZE
Fünf Sterne/Five Stars by Annekatrin Hendel
READERS’ JURIES AND AUDIENCE AWARD
PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD, Fiction Film
Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw
PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD, Documentary Film
I Am Not Your Negro by Raoul Peck
BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS’ JURY AWARD
Testről és lélekről/On Body and Soul by Ildikó Enyedi
TAGESSPIEGEL READERS’ JURY AWARD
Maman Colonelle/Mama Colonel by Dieudo Hamadi
HARVEY – MÄNNER READERS’ JURY AWARD
God’s Own Country by Francis Lee
DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
COMPASS-PERSPEKTIVE-AWARD
Die beste aller Welten/The Best Of All Worlds by Adrian Goiginger
Special Jury Prize: Final Stage by Nicolaas Schmidt
KOMPAGNON-FELLOWSHIP
Systemsprenger by Nora Fingscheidt (Berlinale Talents 2017)
Der grüne Wellensittich by Levin Peter and Elsa Kremser (Perspektive Deutsches Kino 2016)
ARTE INTERNATIONAL PRIZE
Lost Country by Vladimir Perišić (Serbia), produced by KinoElektron (France), MPM Film (France) and
Trilema Films (Serbia)
EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD
Razor Film Produktion (Germany) for The Wife of the Pilot (Director: Anne Zohra Berrached)
VFF TALENT HIGHLIGHT AWARD
Producer Nefes Polat (Turkey) for The Bus to Amerika (Director: Derya Durmaz)
