The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the world’s leading film festivals and most reputable media events. 2012 marks the first year Sound On Sight was present to attend. Merle has been posting her recaps while the rest of us have been paying close attention to the films receiving the most buzz.
Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 274,000 tickets sold and 487,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections, but only a select twenty compete for the awards called the Golden and Silver Bears. This year the Italian film Caesar Must Die took home the Berlin International Film Festival’s top honour as best film. The film is set in Rome’s high-security Rebibbia prison and centres on the rehearsal, staging, and performing of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar by a cast of actual prison inmates. Meanwhile, Hungarian director Bence Fliegauf’s Just The Wind won the second prize, the Silver Bear. The film takes a look at a group of Roma who face attack and discrimination. Check out the full list of winners below.
Golden Bear: “Caesar Must Die,” by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
Silver Bear – The Jury Grand Prize: “Just The Wind,” by Bence Fliegauf
Silver Bear – Best Director: Christian Petzold for “Barbara”
Silver Bear – Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza for “War Witch”
Silver Bear – Best Actor: Mikkel Boe Folsgaard for “A Royal Affair”
Silver Bear – Best Screenplay: Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg for “A Royal Affair”
Alfred Bauer Prize: “Tabu,” by Miguel Gomes
Special Mention: “Sister,” by Ursula Meier
Crystal Bear for the Best Kplus Feature Film: “ARCADIA,” by Olivia Silver (USA)
Special Mention: “Kikoeteru, furi wo sita dake,” by Kaori Imaizumi (Japan)
Crystal Bear for the Best Kplus Short Film: “Julian,” by Matthew Moore (Australia)
Special Mention: “B I N O,” by Bille Pleffer (Australia)
Grand Prix of the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk for the Best Feature Film, endowed with 7,500 Euro: “Kauwboy,” by Boudewijn Koole (Netherlands)
Special Mention: “GATTU,” by Rajan Khosa (India)
Special Prize of the Deutsche Kinderhilfswerk for the Best Short Film, endowed with 2,500 Euro: “B I N O,” by Bille Pleffer (Australia)
Special Mention: “L,” by Thais Fujinaga (Brazil)
Panorama Section Audience Award, Fiction Film: “Parada” (The Parade), by Srdjan Dragojevic (Serbia, Republic of Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia)
Second Place: “Diaz – Don’t Clean Up This Blood,” by Daniele Vicari (Italy, Romania, France)
Third Place: “Xingu,” by Cao Hamburger (Brazil)
Panorama Section Audience Award, Documentary Film: “Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present,” by Matthew Akers (USA)
Second Place: “Call Me Kuchu,” by Malika Zouhali-Worral and Katherine Fairfax Wright
Third Place: “La Vierge, les Coptes et Moi,” by Namir Abdel Messeeh (France, Qatar, Egypt)
Short Film DAAD Scholarship Award: “The Man That Got Away,” by Trevor Anderson (Canada)
EFA Nominee Berlin (Best European Short Film): “Vilaine Fille Mauvais Garcon,” by Justine Triet
Dialogue in Perspective Prize (for French-German cultural dialogue): “This Ain’t California,” by Marten Persiel
Teddy Award For Best Feature Film – “Keep The Lights On,” by Ira Sachs
Teddy Award For Best Documentary – “Call Me Kuchu” by Malika Zouhall-Worrall and Katherine Fairfax Wright
Teddy Award For Best Short Film – “Loxoro,” by Claudia Llosa
Teddy Award Jury Prize – “Jaures,” by Vincent Dieutre
Special Teddy Awards: Mario Montez and Ulrike Ottinger