Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s thriller On The Ice has taken the Crystal Bear for best feature film in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section.

The members of the youth jury were: Faysal Asfaha, Jonathan Curio, Leonie Goebel-Künnecke, Theresa Greiwe, Roberta Huldisch, Oskar E. Levis and Tara Mauritz.

Of On The Ice, which premiered at Sundance and is being sold internationally by Coach14, the jury said: “This film drew us in from the first minute and remained gripping right up to the very end. Here, between solitude and endless expanses, a stifling and constricting atmosphere is created using simple means. Our winning film took us off to a world that was totally unknown to us. A world where everything seems submerged in darkness, even though the sun never goes down.”

A special mention went to She Monkeys (Apflickorna) by Lisa Aschan from Sweden.

The Crystal Bear for the best short went to Same Peacocke’s Manurewa from New Zealand, with a special mention to Dutch short Get Real! by Evert de Beijer.

The awards were presented tonight at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt, followed by a screening of On The Ice.

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