Berlinale 2022: “Alcarràs” wins the Golden Bear
by KM, Movie Lightbox
The 72nd Berlin International Film Festival handed out the Golden and Silver Bears at the awards ceremony held in Berlinale Palast. The Golden Bear, festival’s top prize went to Carla Simón’s sophomore feature film Alcarràs while the Silver Bear runner-up prizes were awarded to Hong Sangsoo’s The Novelist’s Film and Natalia López Gallardo’s Robe of Gems.
“Alcarràs”, a drama film directed and co-written by Carla Simón is about a family in a small village in Catalonia region facing an uncertain future and risk of losing their peach orchard. “I want to thank my family because they grow peaches in Alcarràs and I think that without them and my closeness to this world, I wouldn’t have been able to tell this story, so thank you to my family too, and I would like to dedicate this Bear to the small families of farmers that cultivate the land everyday for these fruits to get to our plates.”, said Simón during her acceptance speech at the awards ceremony. Her film, Summer 1993 screened at the 2017 Berlinale where it won the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury and the GWFF Best First Feature Award.
18 films were selected for the Competition section of the Berlinale. The Silver Bear Grand Jury prize went to perennial festival favorite Hong Sangsoo for his recent work, "The Novelist’s Film” while the Mexican-Bolivian filmmaker Natalia López Gallardo took home the Jury Prize for her debut feature “Robe of Gems”. Renowned French auteur Claire Denis was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director for her latest film “Both Sides of the Blade” starring Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon.
The international jury led by M. Night Shyamalan also presented acting and special awards at the ceremony. Juries for different sections handed out the awards for documentaries, short films and first feature. The screening of films will continue throughout second part of the festival up until February 20. Here is the full list of winners announced during the awards ceremony of the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival:
Golden Bear for Best Film
Alcarràs
Carla Simon
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
The Novelist’s Film
Hong Sang-soo
Silver Bear Jury Prize
Robe Of Gems
Natalia Lopez Gallardo
Silver Bear for Best Director
Claire Denis for Both Sides Of The Blade
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance
Meltem Kaptan for Rabiye Kurnaz vs George W. Bush
by Andreas Dresen
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance
Laura Basuki for Before, Now & Then
by Kamila Andini
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Laila Stieler for Rabiye Kurnaz vs George W. Bush
by Andreas Dresen
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution
Everything Will Be Ok
Rithy Panh
Special Mention
A Piece Of Sky
Michael Koch
Encounters Section
Best Film
Mutzenbacher
Ruth Beckermann
Best Director
Cyril Schaublin for Unrest
Special Jury Award
See You Friday, Robinson
Mitra Farahani
GWFF Best First Feature Award
Sonne
Kurdwin Ayub
Berlinale Documentary Award
Myanmar Diaries
The Myanmar Film Collective
Special Mention
No U-Turn
Ike Nnaebue
Short Film Section
Golden Bear Best Short Film
Trap
Anastasia Veber
Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film)
Sunday Morning
Bruno Ribiero
Special Mention
Bird in the Peninsula
Atsushi Wada
Images courtesy of Berlinale