Berlin International Film Festival 2017
When people talk about international film festivals, Berlinale is a name that is bound to pop up. It is more than just an important award ceremony, it is an event that provides opportunities to young talents and opens up a world of possibilities to those who dare to dream. This year, Berlinale 2017 sold over 335,000 tickets and had over 20,000 professionals and celebrities visiting from 122 countries. The event itself annually features about 400 films, with most belonging to European origins. Seven main sections divide the entirety of the event, each focusing on different criteria of the vast world of films. For example, the section 'Panorama' exclusively features films which highlight controversial issues such as LGBT. Another section, 'Forum', is for documentaries that experiment with a variety of genres. The variety of ways a film can be viewed from is a major point of emphasis in the Berlinale.
Just like its predecessors, the Berlin International Film Festival 2017 was galore with prizes. The most coveted prize of them all, the Golden Bear, is only given to the best of the best films in a respective category. Of course, the runner-up award, the Silver Bear, is of no short caliber. Notable achievements in acting, directing, short film production or other contributions are usally awarded the Silver Bear. This year, the International Jury consisted of the Jury President Paul Verhoeven, the renowned producer Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, the actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Julia Jentsch, the Mexican actor Diego Luna and the Chinese film director Wang Quan'an. With such a star-studded jury, the awards were expected to be given to the most worthy winners. And that certainly was the case, with "Testről és lékekről (On Body and Soul)" winning the 'Golden Bear for Best Film'. The award was given to the producer of this Hungarian drama, Ildikó Enyedi. The movie had received considerable praise throughout the event so it winning the most prestigious award wasn't a surprise. "Testről és lékekről (On Body and Soul)" also grabbed two other awards at the event, both from the independent juries; the 'Prize of the Ecumenical Jury' and the 'Prize of the FIPRESCI Jury'.
The prizes that followed were the Silver Bear for various important categories. The most notable one of these, the 'Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize' went to "Félicité" by Alain Gomis. The international jury further awarded Georg Friedrich for "Helle Nächte (Bright Nights)" and Kim Minhee for "Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone)". They won the 'Silver Bear for Best Actor' and 'Silver Bear for Best Actress', respectively. Aki Kaurismäki was awarded the 'Silver Bear for Best Director' for his film, the Finnish comedy-drama "Toivon tuolla puolen (The Other Side of Hope)". The 'Silver Bear for Best Screenplay' went to Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza for their work in "Una mujer fantástica (A Fantastic Woman)", a Chilean drama. Furthermore, the 'Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution', an award for roles in camera, editing, music, costume or set design, was given to Dana Bunescu for the Romanian drama "Ana, mon amour", directed by Călin Peter Netzer. A special award named the 'Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize', which is given to feature films that opens new perspectives, was awarded to "Pokot (Spoor)" by Agnieszka Holland. "Pokot (Spoor)" is a Polish crime film which revolves around mysterious deaths of hunters in a remote mountain.
Two very prominent awards receive much importance in the Berlinale events; the 'GWFF Best First Feature Award' and the 'Glashütte Original Documentary Award'. Both are given by jury members, though they differ from the international jury which gives out the main competition awards. This year, the jury of 'GWFF Best First Feature Award' consisted of Jayro Bustamante, Clotilde Courau and Mahmood Sabbagh, and they awarded Carla Simon, for "Estiu 1993 (Summer 1993)", with the prestigious prize. This was the young director's first feature debut and her success was well received. The film revolves around an orphan girl who struggles to fit with her new adoptive family. The other award, the 'Glashütte Original Documentary Award' was selected by the jury of Daniela Michel, Laura Poitras and Samir. They awarded Raed Andoni for "Istiyad Ashbah (Ghost Hunting)". This Palestinian documentary offers a look into the main Israel interrogation center with an autobiographical approach. Both the winners of these awards were endowed with 50,000 euros, funded by the respective organizations: GWFF and Glashütte Original.
Full-length movies shouldn't get all the focus, hence comes the awards of the short films. The prizes of the International Short Film Jury were decided by Christian Jankowski, Kimberly Drew and Carlos Nunez, all renowned professionals in their respective fields. The 'Golden Bear for Best Short Film' went to "Cidade Pequena (Small Town)" by Diogo Costa Amarante. This 19-minute long Portugese film shows the confusions in the mind of the six-year old Frederico, and how he approaches his mother regarding his questions. The runner-up prize, the 'Silver Bear Jury Prize for Best Short Film' went to "Ensueño en la Pradera (Reverie in the Meadow)" by Esteban Arrangoiz Julien. This 17-minute film talks about the dreams of a Mexican migrant and focuses on violence occurring in current Mexico. The German car company Audi presented their own 'Audi Short Film Award' to "Street of Death" by Karam Ghossein and bestowed 20,000 euros upon the winner. The special 'Berlin Short Film Nominee for the European Film Awards' was given to "Os Humores Artificials (The Artificial Humors)" by Gabriel Abrantes.
Further prizes, including the Generation awards focusing on children, were given by key-members of the Generation Kplus jury, which included Kay Arend, Antonie Beckmann, Laurentius Fritz and many more. The most valuable of these awards, the 'Crystal Bear for Best Film', was given to "Piatalod (Little Harbour)" by Iveta Grofova. This film, hailing from Slovakia, is based on a true story about two children on the verge of changing their lives forever. The 'Crystal Bear for Best Short Film' was given to "Promise" by Xie Tan, which shows the life of a Chinese boy living by himself in the absence of his parents. A very prestigious award called the 'Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury Award' is given to the best feature-length film selected by a special jury, which includes an endowment of 7,500 euros from the company Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk. This year, "Becoming Who I Was" by Chang-Yong Moon and Jin Jeon nabbed this award. A further endowment of 2,500 euros was given by the same company for 'Special Prize of the Generation Kplus International Jury Award', which was won by "Aaba (Grandfather)" by Amar Kaushik.
Furthermore, from the Youth Jury Generation 14plus category, the 'Crystal Bear for the Best Film' and the 'Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film' went to "Butterfly Kisses" by Rafael Kapelinski and "Wolfe" by Claire Randall, respectively. The 'Grand Prix Jury Award' of this category went to "School Number 3" by Yelizaveta Smith and Georg Geoux. There were many, many other awards given at Berlinale 2017, with the Guild Film Prize, Cicae Art Cinema Award, Readers' Juries Award, etc. to name a few. Prizes were also given during the festival's innovation programme, Berlinale Talents. One of these was the 'VFF Talent Highlight Award', which was given to the producer of the Turkish film "The Bus to Amerika", Nefas Polat. Berlinale Talents also featured editing studios, talent project markets, doc stations, short film stations and other categories of project labs.
As it has been made obvious, Berlinale 2017 was filled with awards of a tremendous number of categories. Even having a special category for children further proves the vastness of the selections of these categories. Both quality and quantity were at abundance at the Berlin International Film Festival 2017, and there is bound to be more next year. Since this event promotes young filmmakers to aspire for greatness, there is simply no reason to pass up on it. Berlinale accepts entries from all walks of life from all around the globe, so any enthusiastic producer, director, editor or artist can apply as long as they aim higher and dream bigger. The main website of Berlinale (https://www.berlinale.de) has a section on film entries, which will be re-activated early September this year. Who knows, maybe a Bangladeshi film will be featured in the Berlin International Film Festival 2018!
By Shams Rashid Tonmoy
Derived from the Berlinale Official
Press Release
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