70th Berlin Film Festival Award Winners

Yes, this year's festival was different, as a summary let me share enthusiasm does not compensate for lack of substance and even do there were some really great films, most were not.  After checking what was going on for a couple of days, gave up and stopped trying to get exciting about a film festival that used to be one of the three greatest in the world. Sigh.

In any case, there were exceptions but none as remarkable as the press conference for the documentary Hillary which strongly suggest you watch if you haven't seen it yet.  It's amazing how an educated person can clearly state thoughts and go to the point, especially when you compare him/her to actors, directors and filmmakers (lol).  Seriously, Hillary Clinton clearly and straight forwardly said very interesting things and doc became must be seen for me, immediately.

On the positive note, social media absolutely improved and definitively became current; congrats to the new digital media team as presence was a lot better but most of all, content became what all film festivals should be doing during their own festival.

Not all awards have been announced but it's remarkable the many collateral awards that went to documentaries, which is fantastic BUT also means that documentaries were "better" than films.  See, feature films selection was NOT as it was in previous festival editions when most collateral awards went to films.  Sigh.

Find awards rather conventional

The Winners

Competition

Golden Bear for Best Film: شیطان وجود ندارد Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil), Mohammad Rasolouf, Germany, Czech Republic and Iran

Silver Bear Jury Grand Prize:  Never Rarely Sometimes Always, Eliza Hittman, USA

Silver Bear for Best Director: Hong Sangsoo for 도망친 여자 Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran), Hong Sangsoo, South Korea

Silver Bear for Best Actress: Paula Beer in Undine, Christian Petzold, Germany and France
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Elio Germano in Volevo nascondermi (Hidden Away), Giorgio Diritti, Italy

Silver Bear for Best Script: d'Innoenzo Brotherd for Favolacce (Bad Tales), Damiano and Fabio d'Innocenzo, Italy and Switzerland
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Jürgen Jürges for Cinematography in Дау. Наташа DAU. Natasha, Ilya Khrzhanovskiy and Jekaterina Oertel, Germany, Ukraine, UK and Russia

Silver Bear 70th Berlinale: Effacer l’historique (Delete History), Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, France and Belgium

Best First Feature Award: Los Conductos, Camilo Restrepo, France, Colombia and Brazil
Special Mention: Nackte Tiere (Naked Animals), Melanie Waelde, Germany

Glashütte Original Documentary Award: Irradiés (Irradiated), Rithy Pahn, France and Cambodia
Special Mention: Aufzeichnungen aus der Unterwelt (Notes from the Underwold), Tizza Covi, Austria

Encounters
Best Film: The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin), Anders Edström and C.W. Winter, USA, Sweden, Japan, UK, Hong Kong and China
Special Jury Award: The Trouble of Being Born, Sandra Wollner, Austria and Germany
Best Director: Cristian Piui for Malmkrog, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Sweden, Bosnia Herzegovina and Macedonia
Special Mention: Matías Piñeiro for Isabella, Argentina and France

Short Films
Golden Bear: T, Keisha Rae Witherspoon,
Silver Bear: Filipiñana, Rafael Manuel, Philippines
Audi Award: Genius Loci, Adrien Mérigeau, France
Best Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards: It Wasn’t the Right Mountain, Mohammad, Mili Pecherer, France

Generation

Generation Kplus
Children's Jury
Crystal Bear for Best Film: Sweet Thing, Alexandre Rockwell, USA
Special Mention: H is for Happiness, John Sheedy, Australia
Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: El Nombre del Hijo (The Name of the Son), Martina Matzkin, Argentina
Special Mention: El sghayra (Miss), Amira Gehanne Khalfallah, Algeria and France



International Jury
Grand Prix for Best Film: Los Lobos (The Wolves), Samuel Kishi Leopo, Mexico
Special Mentions
Mignonnes (Cuties), Maïmouna Doucouré, France
Mamá, mamá, mamá (Mum, Mum, Mum), Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière, Argentina
Special Prize for Best Short Film: El Nombre del Hijo (The Name of the Son), Martina Matzkin, Argentina
Special Mention: The Kites, Seyed Payam Hosseini, Iran



Check Kplus juries statements at official site announcement here.

Generation 14plus
Youth Jury
Crystal Bear for Best Film: Notre-Dame du Nil (Our Lady of the Nile), Atiq Rahimi, France, Belgium and Rwanda
Special Mention: White Riot, Rubika Shah, UK
Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: Clebs (Mutts), Halima Ouardiri, Canada and Morocco
Special Mention: Goodbye Golovin, Mathieu Grimard, Canada



International Jury
Grand Prix for Best Film: Meu nome é Bagdá (My Name Is Baghdad), Caru Alves de Souza, Brazil
Special Mention: Kaze no Denwa (Voices in the Wind), Nobuhiro Suwa, Japan
Special Prize for Best Short Film: Clebs (Mutts), Halima Ouardiri, Canada and Morocco
Special Mention: White Winged Horse, Mahyar Mandegar, Iran



Check 14plus juries statements at fest official site here.


Collateral Awards - Prizes from Independent Juries

FIPRESCI Awards
Competition: Undine, Christian Petzold, Germany and France
Encounters: A metamorfose dos pássaros (The Metamorphosis of Birds), Catarina Vasconcelos, Portugal (documentary)
Panorama: Mogul Mowgli, Bassam Tariq, UK
Special Mention: A l'abordage, Guillaume Brac, France
Forum: The Twentieth Century, Matthew Rankin, Canada
Special Mention: Overtures, The Living and the Dead Ensemble, UK and France (documentary)

Ecumenical Jury Awards
Competition: شیطان وجود ندارد Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil), Mohammad Rasolouf, Germany, Czech Republic and Iran
Panorama: Otac (Father), Srdan Golubović, Serbia, France, Germany, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Slovenia
Special Mention:  Saudi Runaway, Susanne Regina Meures, Switzerland
Forum: Seishin 0 (Zero), Kazuhiro Soda, Japan and USA (documentary)

Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai (C.I.C.A.E.)
Panorama: Digger, Georgis Grigorakis, Greece and France
Forum: Ping Jing (The Calming), Song Fang, China

Teddy Awards
Best Film: Futur Drei (No Hard Feelings), Faraz Shariat, Germany (G)
Nominated:
Shirley, Josephine Decker, USA
The Twentieth Century, Matthew Rankin, Canada
Best Documentary: Si c’était de l’amour (If It Were Love), Patic Chiha, France
Nominated:
La casa dell'amore (The House of Love), Luca Ferri, Italy (T)
Petite fille (Little Girl), Sébastien Lifshitz, France
Best Short Film: Playback. Ensayo de una Despedida, Agustina Comedi, Argentina
Nominated:
Extractions, Thirza Cuthand, Canada
Genius Loci, Adrien Mérigeau, France
Untitle Sequence of Gaps, Vika Kirchenbauer, Germany
Special Jury Award: 日子 Rizi (Days), Tsai Ming-Liang, Taiwan (G)
Reader's Award: Futur Drei (No Hard Feelings), Faraz Shariat, Germany (G)
Activist Award: Welcome to Chechnya, David France, USA

AG Kino Gilde (Association of German Art House Cinemas) 14plus Preisträger: Jumbo, Zoé Wittock, France, Belgium and Luxembourg
Amnesty International Film Award: Welcome to Chechnya, David France, USA
Caligari Film Prize: Victoria, Sofie Benoot, Liesbeth De Ceulaer, and Isabelle Tollenaere, Belgium (documentary)
Guild Film Prize: شیطان وجود ندارد Sheytan vojud nadarad (There Is No Evil), Mohammad Rasolouf, Germany, Czech Republic and Iran
Heiner Carow Prize: Garagenvolk (Garage People), Natalija Yefimkina (documentary), Germany
Label Europa Cinemas: Håp (Hope), Maria Sødahl, Norway and Sweden
Peace Film Prize: Los Lobos, Samuel Kishi Leopo,  Mexico

Reader's Juries and Audience Awards

Panorama Audience Awards
Feature Films
1st Place: Otac (Father), Srdan Golubović, Serbia, France, Germany, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, and Slovenia
2nd Place: Futur Drei (No Hard Feelings), Faraz Shariat, Germany
3rd Place: Håp (Hope), Maria Sødahl, Norway and Sweden
Documentary Films
1st Place: Welcome to Chechnya, David France, USA
2nd Place: Saudi Runaway, Susanne Regina Meures, Switzerland
3rd Place: Petite fille (Little Girl), Sébastien Lifshitz, France

Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award: Effacer l'historique (Delete History), Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, France and Belgium
Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury Award: Chico Ventana También Quisiera Tener Un Submarino (Window Boy Would Also Like to Have a Submarine), Alex Piperno, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Netherlands and Philippines

Compass-Perspektive-Award: Walchensee Forever, Janna Ji Wonders, Germany
Kompagnon-Fellowships
Berlinale Talents: Artic Link, Ian Purnell (documentary/visual essay), Germany
Perspecktive Deutsches Kino: 111, Hristiana Raykova, Germany

Co-Production Awards to Projects (Development Awards)
ARTEKino International Prize: The Melting, Veerle Baetens, Belgium
Euroimages Co-Production Development Award: Bu Dünyada İki Tür İnsan Vardır (There Are Two Kinds of People in This World), Onur Saylak, Turkey
VFF Talent Highlight Award: The Last Paradise on Earth, Sakaris Stórá, Faroe Islands

Honorary Golden Bear: Helen Mirren
Berlinale Camera: Ulrike Ottinger