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BERLINALE 2021 Awards

The Berlinale Summer Special announces the winners of its Audience Awards

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- The festival’s special edition, which unspooled from 9-20 June, saw the triumph of Maria Speth’s Mr Bachmann and His Class and Luiz Bolognesi’s The Last Forest

The Berlinale Summer Special announces the winners of its Audience Awards
Dieter Bachmann, the protagonist of Maria Speth's Mr Bachmann and His Class, at the premiere of the film during the Berlinale Summer Special (© Alexander Janetzko/Berlinale)

It’s a wrap for the 2021 Berlinale Summer Special (9-20 June). The event, which took place over the course of 11 nights in 16 open-air cinemas in the German capital, saw the participation of most of the invited cast and crew members, who were able to physically attend the screenings of their films.

The festival was brought to a close by the announcement of the winners of the Audience Awards. For the newly introduced Competition Audience Award, viewers were able to choose the winning movie from among 15 titles, and 8,498 ballots were counted. Meanwhile, the winner of the Panorama Audience Award, which has been voted on since 1999, was selected from among 16 films, and 5,658 ballots were counted. Both prizes were presented by the Berlin International Film Festival together with radioeins and RBB Television, and were handed out during two ceremonies that took place yesterday, 20 June. The Berlinale’s executive director, Mariette Rissenbeek, and artistic director, Carlo Chatrian, handed over the Competition Audience Award, whilst Michael Stütz and radioeins programme director Robert Skuppin presented the winners of the Panorama Audience Award with their trophies.

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The Competition Audience Award went to Maria Speth’s Mr Bachmann and His Class [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Germany). Set in a city with a complex history of both excluding and integrating foreigners, it follows a charismatic teacher who provides his pupils, all coming from different countries originally, with the key to feeling at home in Germany and becoming citizens of the world. Second and third place went to Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Schrader
film profile
]
(Germany), and Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam’s Ballad of a White Cow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Iran/France), respectively.

Next, the Panorama Audience Award went to The Last Forest (Brazil), directed by Luiz Bolognesi. In powerful images, alternating between documentary observation and staged sequences, and dense soundscapes, the director documented the indigenous community of the Yanomami and depicted their threatened natural environment in the Amazon rainforest. Finally, second and third place in the category went to Eliane Raheb’s Miguel’s War [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Lebanon/Germany/Spain) and Monika Treut’s Genderation [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Germany), respectively.

Here is the full list of Berlinale Audience Award winners:

Competition Audience Award

Winner
Mr Bachmann and His Class [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Maria Speth (Germany)

Second Place
I’m Your Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Schrader
film profile
]
- Maria Schrader (Germany)

Third Place
Ballad of a White Cow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moghaddam (Iran/France)

Panorama Audience Award

Winner
The Last Forest - Luiz Bolognesi (Brazil)

Second Place
Miguel’s War [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Eliane Raheb (Lebanon/Germany/Spain)

Third Place
Genderation [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Monika Treut (Germany)

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