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BERLINALE 2011 Awards

Tarr, Köhler snag morsels among Iranis' bear’s shares of honours

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While not always the case, this year’s festival buzz proved true: Iranian film Nader and Simin, A Separation by Asghar Farhadi has won the Golden Bear of the 2011 Berlinale. The film also picked up the Best Actress and Best Actor Silver Bears for its ensemble female and male casts: respectively, Sarina Farhadi, Sareh Bayat, Kimia Hosseini and Leila Hatami; Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi and Iranian-Italian actor-director-editor Babak Karimi.

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Nader and Simin also beat out heavy competition from the other critical favourite, Coriolanus [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Ralph Fiennes’ formidable directorial debut featuring an equally formidable cast (see review).

The Jury gave its Grand Prix to The Turin Horse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Béla Tarr
film profile
]
by Hungarian director Bela Tarr (see review), who claimed that this, his bleakest of bleak films, is his swan song to cinema.

Though it divided most critics and audiences, the jury was apparently unanimous in presenting Germany’s Ulrich Köhler’s with the Silver Bear for Director, for his African-set Sleeping Sickness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ulrich Kohler
film profile
]
(see review).

Mexican director Paula Markovitch’s The Prize [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(Mexico/France/Poland/Germany) won two Silver Bears for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: for Polish cinematographer Wojciech Staron and Mexican production designer Barbara Enriquez.

The Silver Bear for Best Script was given to The Forgiveness of Blood [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(see review), which played late in the programme. The Albanian-set story about tradition and vendettas is by American director Joshua Marston, who won the Berlinale’s Alfred Bauer Award in 2004 for Maria Full of Grace.

This year’s Alfred Bauer Award, for new perspectives in world cinema, went to Andres Veiel’s If Not Us, Who [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a biopic on Bernward Vesper set in the 1960s (see review).

The Best First Feature Special Mention went to Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s Generation title On the Ice (US), set among the Iñupiat community of northernmost Alaska. A Special Mention in the category went to John Michael McDonagh’s UK/Irish buddy-cop comedy The Guard [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: John Michael McDonagh
film profile
]
(see review).

The full list of prize winners:

Golden Bear for Best Film
Nader And Simin, A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

Silver Bear - Grand Jury Prize
The Turin Horse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Béla Tarr
film profile
]
- Béla Tarr

Silver Bear for Best Director
Ulrich Köhler - Sleeping Sickness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ulrich Kohler
film profile
]

Silver Bear for Best Actress
Actress-ensemble in Nader And Simin, A Separation

Silver Bear for Best Actor
Actor-ensemble in Nader And Simin, A Separation)

Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj - The Forgiveness of Blood [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement (ex aequo)
Wojciech Staron - The Prize
Barbara Enriquez - The Prize

Alfred Bauer Prize
If Not Us, Who - Andres Veiel

Collateral Awards

Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas
Ecumenical Jury Prize
Competition:
Nader and Simin, A Separation - Asghar Farhadi
Panorama:
Invisible [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Michal Aviad
Forum:
Familiar Ground - Stéphane Lafleur

FIPRESCI Prize
Competition:
The Turin Horse [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Béla Tarr
film profile
]
- Béla Tarr
Panorama:
Top Floor Left Wing [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Angelo Cianci
Forum :
Heaven’s Story - Zeze Takahisa

Gild German of Art House Cinemas
If Not Us, Who [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Andres Veiel C.I.C.A.E. Awards
Panorama:
Here - Braden King
Forum:
Amnesty - Bujar Alimani

Teddy Awards

Best Feature Film
Absent - Marco Berger
Best Documentary
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye - Marie Losier
Teddy Jury Award
Tomboy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile
]
- Céline Sciamma
Best Short Film (ex aequo)
Generations - Barbara Hammer, Gina Carducci
May Deren’s Sink - Barbara Hammer

Premio Dialogue en perspective
The Education - Dirk Lütter

Caligari Film Prize
The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye - Marie Losier

Premio NETPAC
Heaven’s Story - Zeze Takahisa

Peace Film Award
Tomorrow Will Be Better - Dorota Kedzierzawska

Amnesty International Film Prize
Barzakh - Mantas Kvedaravicius

Panorama Audience Award PPP – fiction film
Even the Rain [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Icíar Bollaín
film profile
]
- Iciar Bollain
Panorama Audience Award PPP – documentary film
In Heaven Underground – The Weissensee Jewish Cemetery - Britta Wauer

Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Prize
Nader And Simin, A Separation - Asghar Farhadi

ELSE Siegessaüle Readers’ Choice Award
Harvest - Benjamin Cantu

Tagesspiegel Readers’ Prize
Matchmaking Mayor - Erika Hníková

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