25/02/2023 - BERLINALE 2023: The 73rd edition of the German festival also saw the triumph of Philippe Garrel’s The Plough, Christian Petzold’s Afire and João Canijo’s Bad Living

The 73rd Berlinale (16-26 February) was brought to a close tonight by the traditional awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast, which saw the triumph of Nicolas Philibert’s documentary On the Adamant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Philibert
film profile] (France/Japan), the winner of this year’s Golden Bear. After Laura Poitras’s triumph at Venice with All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (USA), another non-fiction feature has thus snagged the main prize at one of the “Big Three” festivals.

This year’s competition jury, spearheaded by Kristen Stewart, was made up of Golshifteh Farahani, Valeska Grisebach, Radu Jude, Francine Maisler, Carla Simón and Johnnie To. In her introductory speech, Stewart explained how this “masterfully crafted” film prompted “questions on a deep level” and “really cut into all of us”.

“Are you crazy?” Philibert joked once he was up on stage. He thanked the Berlinale for “welcoming the film”, all of the production partners, his daughter and psychoanalyst Linda De Zitter. “I’m honoured, proud and deeply moved. […] In this film [set] in a psychiatric ward, we don’t always distinguish very clearly between patients and carers. And that’s fine. I wanted, if not to identity with them, at least to recognise [...] the common humanity and the feeling of being part of the same world.”

On the Adamant zooms in on the titular day-care centre, which welcomes adults suffering from mental disorders, and offers the kind of care that grounds them in time and space, and helps them recover or keep up their spirits.

Grisebach announced the recipient of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize – namely, Afire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile] (Germany) by Christian Petzold. On stage, the director thanked “the jury, the fantastic actors with whom I spent the summer and the great people behind the camera. […] I just wanted to remind you of the fact that Carlos Saura died just a week ago, and he’s very important to me,” he added.

Farahaniawarded the Silver Bear Jury Prize to João Canijo’s Bad Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Canijo
film profile] (Portugal/France). Canijo thanked the festival, his team and his soul mate, as well as his “wonderful actresses” who “gave him their life”. He greeted the audience by saying, “Slava Ukraini!”

Farahani also revealed the winner of the Best Director gong, bestowed upon Philippe Garrel for The Plough [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Switzerland). The Iranian-French actress defined Garrel as “the youngest, most vital spirit” as well as “the best example of a director impossible to be corrupted by conventions”, who “talks about life, family and art in the most playful way, without judgement”.

“Long live the Iranian revolution,” said Garrel right after receiving the prize. He dedicated it to his family but, above all, “to Jean-Luc Godard, who is, for us, a great master and is no longer with us. [He was] here in Berlin in the mid-1960s and received a prize for Alphaville, and that was a masterpiece.”

Radu Jude announced the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay. He jokingly defined the script as “a tool of control for the bookkeepers. [...] Sometimes, there are great films that go against these bookkeepers; they should be cherished and honoured. One of them is Angela Schanelec’s Music [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] [Germany/France/Serbia].” Schanelec could not attend the ceremony in person, but in her message, she expressed her gratitude and shared the prize with “those close to me from Ukraine and Russia”.

Stewart and Maisler awarded Thea Ehre with the prize for Best Supporting Performance, for her turn in Christoph Hochhäusler’s Till the End of the Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christoph Hochhäusler
film profile] (Germany). “To speak very plainly, this performance blew our hair back. [...] It is a gift to us all. Words don’t matter in cases like these,” said Stewart as she invited Ehre up on stage. The two jurors also announced the winner of Best Leading Performance, which went to newcomer Sofía Otero for her portrayal of Lucía in Estibaliz Urresola’s 20,000 Species of Bees [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Estíbaliz Urresola
film profile] (Spain). “This performance shows how we can look at our youth and see things we’ve forgotten,” said Stewart. “I still can’t believe it, really. [This moment is] so special to me,” young Otero said, thanking the whole technical team and her family while struggling to hold back the tears.

Carla Simón handed the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to veteran French DoP Hélène Louvart for her work on Giacomo Abbruzzese’s fiction debut, Disco Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giacomo Abbruzzese
film profile] (Italy/France/Belgium/Poland). The jury billed her craft as “ironic, breathtaking and colourful at the same time”, and praised her “incredible eye for filming from the most interesting perspective”. The cinematographer invited Abbruzzese up on stage, who underscored how their collaboration has been fruitful in both an artistic and a human sense.

The Encounters jury – made up of Dea Kulumbegashvili, Angeliki Papoulia and Paolo Moretti – revealed the recipient of the gong for Best Film, Bas Devos’s Here [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bas Devos
film profile] (Belgium). He highlighted the movie’s ability to “expand the traditional narrative approach, inviting the viewer to explore the intangible nature of human relationships”. The jury handed out the Special Jury Awards ex aequo to Paul B Preciado’s Orlando, My Political Biography [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paul B Preciado
film profile] (France) for its “in-depth, immediate account of affirmation and self identity, [characterised] by a politically rigorous yet formally playful approach”, and Lois Patiño’s Samsara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lois Patiño
film profile] (Spain), which was described by the director himself as a film driven by “the curiosity and desire to understand the other”, and crowned Tatiana Huezo, helmer of The Echo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Mexico/Germany), as Best Director, and she subsequently dedicated the prize “to all of the other women who make films in Mexico, opening up pathways and fighting hard”.

The Echo also scooped the Berlinale Documentary Award, worth €40,000, split between the director and the producer, and granted by pubcaster RBB. The jury praised Huezo’s portrait of a “complex community”, describing it as a “deeply affectionate film about how time is passing” and “a fascinating new piece in the director’s already distinguished body of work”. Orlando, My Political Biography was singled out with a Special Mention.

The GWFF Best First Feature Award, worth €50,000 and split between the producer and the directors, went to the Encounters title The Klezmer Project [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leandro Koch, Paloma Schach…
film profile] (Austria/Argentina) by Leandro Koch and Paloma Schachmann. The movie takes the viewer on an emotional journey to Eastern Europe in search of Jewish klezmer music.

Finally, the Silver and Golden Bear for Best Short Film went to Matthew Thorne and Derik Lynch’s Dipped in Black (Australia), and Michelle and Noel Keserwany’s Les chenilles (France), respectively. The French short will also be the candidate for the European Film Awards. Nadia Parfan’s It’s a Date (Ukraine) managed to snag a Special Mention.

The full list of award winners is as follows:

Competition

Golden Bear for Best Film
On the Adamant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolas Philibert
film profile] – Nicolas Philibert (France/Japan)

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
Afire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Petzold
film profile] – Christian Petzold (Germany)

Silver Bear Jury Prize
Bad Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: João Canijo
film profile] – João Canijo (Portugal/France)

Silver Bear for Best Director
Philippe Garrel – The Plough [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Switzerland)

Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance
Sofía Otero – 20,000 Species of Bees [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Estíbaliz Urresola
film profile] (Spain)

Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance
Thea Ehre – Till the End of the Night [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christoph Hochhäusler
film profile] (Germany)

Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Music [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – Angela Schanelec (Germany/France/Serbia)

Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution
Hélène Louvart (cinematographer) – Disco Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giacomo Abbruzzese
film profile] (France/Italy/Poland/Belgium)

Encounters

Best Film
Here [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bas Devos
film profile] – Bas Devos (Belgium)

Best Director
Tatiana Huezo – The Echo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Mexico/Germany)

Special Jury Award (ex-aequo)
Orlando, My Political Biography [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paul B Preciado
film profile] – Paul B Preciado (France)
Samsara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lois Patiño
film profile] – Lois Patiño (Spain)

Non-section-specific awards

Berlinale Documentary Award
The Echo – Tatiana Huezo
Special Mention
Orlando, My Political Biography – Paul B Preciado

GWFF Best First Feature Award
The Klezmer Project [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leandro Koch, Paloma Schach…
film profile] – Leandro Koch, Paloma Schachmann (Argentina/Austria)
Special Mention
The Bride – Myriam U Birara (Rwanda)

Berlinale Shorts

Golden Bear for Best Short Film
Les Chenilles - Michelle Keserwany, Noel Keserwany (France)

Silver Bear Jury Prize
Dipped in Black - Matthew Thorne, Derik Lynch (Australia)

Special Mention
It’s a Date - Nadia Parfan (Ukraine)

Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards
Les Chenilles - Michelle Keserwany, Noel Keserwany