15/02/2014 - The Golden Bear was awarded to the Chinese film Black Coal, Thin Ice while the Americans leave with the Jury Prize and Silver Bear for Best Director. Resnais and Brüggemann win distinctions for Europe.

The 64^th edition of the Berlinale came to an end this Saturday with the traditional closing ceremony and its distribution of awards deciding, among other things, between the 20 films in the 2014 competition. The jury of the official competition presided by American producer James Schamus awarded the Golden Bear for Best Film to Black Coal, Thin Ice, a Chinese film byDiao Yinan. The film also received a second prize, the Silver Bear for Best Actor for Liao Fan.

And it is clearly Asia which stands out in this prizewinners' list, with a Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution forZeng Jian, director of photography for Blind Massage, a co-production between China and France, directed byLou Ye. Another Silver Bear, this time for Best Actress, completed the combo of Asian interpretations with Haru Kuroki distuinguished for her role in The Little House by Japanese director Yoji Yamada

American directors can also be satisfied by their Berlinale performance as two major awards wound up in the star-struck hands of Uncle Sam. First, the Silver Bear – Jury Grand Prize attributed to Wes Anderson for his very luke-warm Grand Budapest Hotel. Then, more deserving, the Silver Bear for Best Director, awarded for the second year running to an American. After David Gordon Greene in 2013, it was the turn of Richard Linklater to receive this prize for his very fine movie Boyhood, already a prize-winner at the Sundance Festival. 

Fortunately, European candidates also climbed up onto the podium, though only in third place if we are referring to the hierarchy of the awards. The Alfred Bauer Prize for a work opening up new perspectives was won by Life of Riley by French veteran Alain Resnais, and the Silver Bear for Best Script was attributed to the couple Anna and Dietrich Brüggemann for the German film Stations of the Cross (Kreuzweg), also directed by Dietrich Brüggemann.

The winning shorts are European. The Golden Bear for a short film was won by Tant qu'il nous reste des fusils à pompe by French duo Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, while the Silver Bear went to Laborat, a German production directed by Guillaume Cailleau.

Finally, Mexico triumphed in the Panaroma section with the Prize for Best Feature Film awarded to Alonso Ruiz Palacios for Güeros.

LIST OF WINNERS

Golden Bear for Best Film
Black Coal, Thin Ice - Diao Yinan

Silver Bear – Jury Grand Prix
The Grand Budapest Hotel [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile] - Wes Anderson

Alfred Bauer Prize
Aimer, boire et chanter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Alain Resnais

Silver Bear for Best Director
Richard Linklater - Boyhood

Silver Bear for Best Actress
Haru kuroki - The Little House

Silver Bear for Best Actor
Liao Fan - Black Coal, Thin Ice

Silver Bear for Best Script
Stations of the Cross [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Dietrich Brüggemann
film profile] - Dietrich Brüggemann, Anna Brüggemann

Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution
Blind Massage [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Zeng Jian (Cinematography)

Best First Feature Film
Güeros – Alonso Ruiz Palacios

Short film awards
Golden Bear
Tant qu’il nous reste des fusils à pompe – Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel

Silver Bear
Laborat – Guillaume Cailleau

(Translated from French)