Chinese director Wang Quan'an had an ideal start for the Chinese New Year by winning this year's Golden Bear for his third feature Tuya's Marriage (Tu ya de hun shi) on the eve of the Year of the Pig.
The tale of a practical woman searching for a reliable man in a remote part of China was described by Screen's David D'Arcy as 'funny, tender and vividly shot, this delightful comedy is more satisfying as both story and cinema than other features recently shot in Mongolia.'
It was the third Chinese film to win the top honour in Berlin in the last 20 years after Red Sorghum (1988) and The Women From The Lake Of Scented Souls which shared the prize ex aequo with The Wedding Banquet in 1993.
Speaking about the International Jury's work, president Paul Schrader said: 'To be honest, it was remarkably harmonious' and described his jury colleagues as 'a very nice group' and their deliberations as 'very effective.'
Germany's Nina Hoss was a popular choice for the Best Actress Silver Bear for her portrayal of Yella in the film of the same name by Christian Petzold, their third collaboration together after Toter Mann and Wolfsburg.
Argentinian director Ariel Rotter picked up two awards for his second feature The Other: The Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor Silver Bear for Julio Chavez who could not attend the awards ceremony because he was on the stage at home in a one-man show as the Berlin travestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf.
On receiving his prize, Rotter, whose project had been backed by the World Cinema Fund with Cologne-based Selavy Productions as German co-producer, commented:
'This prize recognises the possibility to make a certain kind of cinema far away from the economic elements which surround cinema. Through this, one is able in the Berlinale to regain a certain way of expressing things. '
While the Alfred Bauer Prize went to Korea's Park Chan-wook for I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK, the Silver Bear for Best Direction was awarded to Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar for Beaufort about the last military unit to be stationed in southern Lebanon prior to the troops being withdrawn from the country.
On receiving the prize, he expressed a wish that the film would inspire political leaders to have the courage to put an end to the hostilities in the Middle East region.
On the evening before the gala closing ceremony, the international critics federation FIPRESCI announced its three awards to Jiri Menzel's I Served The King Of England (Competition) , Ozer Kiziltan's Takva - A Man's Fear Of God (Panorama) and Ann-Kristin Reyels' Hounds (Forum).
Meanwhile, during the announcement of the independent juries' awards on Saturday afternoon, festival director Dieter Kosslick noted: 'We had very contoversial films and a large number of films with terrible and dark issues. It was quite interesting when I talked with Sharon Stone, Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez or Antonio Banderas, that they all said one sentence: 'we are all here because the festival raises the right issues'.'
'Even if I know that some people think there should be more films for the film critics, and there were plenty of films for the critics, I think that there is a tendency that the big stars not only want to come for the shiny red carpet but also be linked with an issue.
The most criticised film was Bordertown and it is my personal responsibility that this film is in the festival. A journalist asked me if I had been hurt by the criticism [about the film], and I said: 'What are you talking about when 400 women have been raped and mutilated at the border of Mexico' Nobody had paid attention to this crime, but if we can stop one more single person being murdered, I would still show this film if Antonio Banderas and J Lo were talking and there was nothing on the screen. I think it is all our responsibility to raise this issue and stop this crime.'
Kosslick added that 'the independence of the juries is the most important thing and I promise you that the main jury of this year was entirely and completely independent. So, don't hit me at the door if you don't like the Bears!'
Main Competition - International Jury prizes
GOLDEN BEAR FOR THE BEST FILM
Tuya's Marriage by Wang Quan'an
THE JURY GRAND PRIX - SILVER BEAR
The Other by Ariel Rotter
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Joseph Cedar (Beaufort)
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nina Hoss (Yella)
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR
Julio Chavez (The Other)
SILVER BEAR FOR AN OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION
to the ensemble cast of The Good Shepherd
SILVER BEAR FOR THE BEST MUSIC
David Mackenzie (Hallam Foe)
ALFRED BAUER PRIZE
I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok by Park Chan-wook
BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD
Vanaja by Rajnesh Domalpalli
SHORT FILM GOLDEN BEAR
Contact (Raak) by Hanro Smitsman
THE JURY PRIZE - SILVER BEAR ex-aequo
Pick-Up (Decroche) by Manuel Schapira
Mei by Arvin Chen
PRIX UIP BERLIN
Rotten Apple by Ralitza Petrova
DAAD SHORT FILM AWARD
My Mother Learns Cinema (Annem Sinema Ogreniyor) by Nesimi Yetik
CRYSTAL BEAR FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Dek Hor (Dorm) by Songyos Sugmakanan
SPECIAL MENTION
Mukhsin by Yasmin Ahmad
CRYSTAL BEAR FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Menged by Daniel Taye Workou
SPECIAL MENTION
Gaining Ground (Land gewinnen) by Marc Brummund
CRYSTAL BEAR FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Sweet Mud (Adama Meshuga'at) by Dror Shaul
SPECIAL MENTION
The Fall by Tarsem Singh
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE DEUTSCHES KINDERHILFSWERK FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Mukhsin by Yasmin Ahmad
SPECIAL MENTION
Dek Hor (Dorm) by Songyos Sugmakanan
THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE DEUTSCHES KINDERHILFSWERK FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Gaining Ground (Land gewinnen) by Marc Brummund
SPECIAL MENTION
Having A Brother (Drengen i Kufferten) by Esben Toft Jacobsen
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY
Competition: Tuya's Marriage, by Wang Quan'an
Panorama: Luo Ye Gui Gen (Getting Home), by Zhang Yang
Forum: Chrigu, by Jan Gassmann and Christian Ziorjen
FIPRESCI PRIZES
Competition: I Served The King Of England, by Jiri Menzel
Panorama: Takva (Takva - A Man's Fear Of God), by Özer Kiziltan
Forum: Jagdhunde (Hounds), by Ann-Kristin Reyels
PRIZE OF THE GUILD OF GERMAN ARTHOUSE CINEMAS
Hallam Foe, by David Mackenzie
C.I.C.A.E. PRIZE
Panorama: The Bubble, by Eytan Fox
Forum: Heimatklänge (Echoes Of Home), by Stefan Schwietert
LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS
El Camino de los Ingleses (Summer Rain), by Antonio Banderas
MANFRED-SALZGEBER-PRIZE
The Tracey Fragments, by Bruce McDonald
Special Mention: Happy New Life, by Arpad Bogdan
PANORAMA PUBLIKUMSPREISE
Blindsight, by Lucy Walker
TEDDY AWARDS
Feature film Ci-Qing (Spider Lilies), by Zero Chou
Special Mention: La Leon, by Santiago Otheguy
Documentary: A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams And The Warhol Factory,
by Esther B. Robinson
Special Teddy: Helmut Berger
Teddy Ballot Volkswagen Audience Award: Notes On A Scandal, by Richard Eyre
DIALOGUE EN PERSPECTIVE
Prinzessinnenbad (Pool Of Princesses), by Bettina Blümner
Special Mention: Hotel Very Welcome, by Sonja Heiss
CALIGARI FILM PRIZE
Kurz davor ist es passiert (It happened just before), by Anja Salomonowitz
Special Mention: Wolfsbergen, by Nanouk Leopold
NETPAC-PRIZE ex-aequo
Tuli, by Auraeus Solito
Ichijiku no kao (Faces Of A Fig Tree), by Momoi Kaori
PEACE FILM AWARD
Goodbye Bafana, by Bille August
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE
When Darkness Falls, by Anders Nilsson
FEMINA FILM PRIZE
Bettina Böhler for editing in Yella by Christian Petzold
TAGESSPIEGEL READERS' PRIZE
Heimatklange, by Stefan Schwietert
BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS' PRIZE
Irina Palm, by Sam Garbarski
SIEGESSÄULE READERS' AWARD
The Bubble, by Eytan Fox
PRIZE OF THE BERLINALE TALENT CAMPUS
VOLKSWAGEN SCORE COMPETITION
Ilja Coric
The tale of a practical woman searching for a reliable man in a remote part of China was described by Screen's David D'Arcy as 'funny, tender and vividly shot, this delightful comedy is more satisfying as both story and cinema than other features recently shot in Mongolia.'
It was the third Chinese film to win the top honour in Berlin in the last 20 years after Red Sorghum (1988) and The Women From The Lake Of Scented Souls which shared the prize ex aequo with The Wedding Banquet in 1993.
Speaking about the International Jury's work, president Paul Schrader said: 'To be honest, it was remarkably harmonious' and described his jury colleagues as 'a very nice group' and their deliberations as 'very effective.'
Germany's Nina Hoss was a popular choice for the Best Actress Silver Bear for her portrayal of Yella in the film of the same name by Christian Petzold, their third collaboration together after Toter Mann and Wolfsburg.
Argentinian director Ariel Rotter picked up two awards for his second feature The Other: The Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor Silver Bear for Julio Chavez who could not attend the awards ceremony because he was on the stage at home in a one-man show as the Berlin travestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf.
On receiving his prize, Rotter, whose project had been backed by the World Cinema Fund with Cologne-based Selavy Productions as German co-producer, commented:
'This prize recognises the possibility to make a certain kind of cinema far away from the economic elements which surround cinema. Through this, one is able in the Berlinale to regain a certain way of expressing things. '
While the Alfred Bauer Prize went to Korea's Park Chan-wook for I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK, the Silver Bear for Best Direction was awarded to Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar for Beaufort about the last military unit to be stationed in southern Lebanon prior to the troops being withdrawn from the country.
On receiving the prize, he expressed a wish that the film would inspire political leaders to have the courage to put an end to the hostilities in the Middle East region.
On the evening before the gala closing ceremony, the international critics federation FIPRESCI announced its three awards to Jiri Menzel's I Served The King Of England (Competition) , Ozer Kiziltan's Takva - A Man's Fear Of God (Panorama) and Ann-Kristin Reyels' Hounds (Forum).
Meanwhile, during the announcement of the independent juries' awards on Saturday afternoon, festival director Dieter Kosslick noted: 'We had very contoversial films and a large number of films with terrible and dark issues. It was quite interesting when I talked with Sharon Stone, Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez or Antonio Banderas, that they all said one sentence: 'we are all here because the festival raises the right issues'.'
'Even if I know that some people think there should be more films for the film critics, and there were plenty of films for the critics, I think that there is a tendency that the big stars not only want to come for the shiny red carpet but also be linked with an issue.
The most criticised film was Bordertown and it is my personal responsibility that this film is in the festival. A journalist asked me if I had been hurt by the criticism [about the film], and I said: 'What are you talking about when 400 women have been raped and mutilated at the border of Mexico' Nobody had paid attention to this crime, but if we can stop one more single person being murdered, I would still show this film if Antonio Banderas and J Lo were talking and there was nothing on the screen. I think it is all our responsibility to raise this issue and stop this crime.'
Kosslick added that 'the independence of the juries is the most important thing and I promise you that the main jury of this year was entirely and completely independent. So, don't hit me at the door if you don't like the Bears!'
Main Competition - International Jury prizes
GOLDEN BEAR FOR THE BEST FILM
Tuya's Marriage by Wang Quan'an
THE JURY GRAND PRIX - SILVER BEAR
The Other by Ariel Rotter
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR
Joseph Cedar (Beaufort)
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTRESS
Nina Hoss (Yella)
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST ACTOR
Julio Chavez (The Other)
SILVER BEAR FOR AN OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION
to the ensemble cast of The Good Shepherd
SILVER BEAR FOR THE BEST MUSIC
David Mackenzie (Hallam Foe)
ALFRED BAUER PRIZE
I'm A Cyborg, But That's Ok by Park Chan-wook
BEST FIRST FEATURE AWARD
Vanaja by Rajnesh Domalpalli
SHORT FILM GOLDEN BEAR
Contact (Raak) by Hanro Smitsman
THE JURY PRIZE - SILVER BEAR ex-aequo
Pick-Up (Decroche) by Manuel Schapira
Mei by Arvin Chen
PRIX UIP BERLIN
Rotten Apple by Ralitza Petrova
DAAD SHORT FILM AWARD
My Mother Learns Cinema (Annem Sinema Ogreniyor) by Nesimi Yetik
CRYSTAL BEAR FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Dek Hor (Dorm) by Songyos Sugmakanan
SPECIAL MENTION
Mukhsin by Yasmin Ahmad
CRYSTAL BEAR FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Menged by Daniel Taye Workou
SPECIAL MENTION
Gaining Ground (Land gewinnen) by Marc Brummund
CRYSTAL BEAR FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Sweet Mud (Adama Meshuga'at) by Dror Shaul
SPECIAL MENTION
The Fall by Tarsem Singh
THE GRAND PRIX OF THE DEUTSCHES KINDERHILFSWERK FOR BEST FEATURE FILM
Mukhsin by Yasmin Ahmad
SPECIAL MENTION
Dek Hor (Dorm) by Songyos Sugmakanan
THE SPECIAL PRIZE OF THE DEUTSCHES KINDERHILFSWERK FOR BEST SHORT FILM
Gaining Ground (Land gewinnen) by Marc Brummund
SPECIAL MENTION
Having A Brother (Drengen i Kufferten) by Esben Toft Jacobsen
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY
Competition: Tuya's Marriage, by Wang Quan'an
Panorama: Luo Ye Gui Gen (Getting Home), by Zhang Yang
Forum: Chrigu, by Jan Gassmann and Christian Ziorjen
FIPRESCI PRIZES
Competition: I Served The King Of England, by Jiri Menzel
Panorama: Takva (Takva - A Man's Fear Of God), by Özer Kiziltan
Forum: Jagdhunde (Hounds), by Ann-Kristin Reyels
PRIZE OF THE GUILD OF GERMAN ARTHOUSE CINEMAS
Hallam Foe, by David Mackenzie
C.I.C.A.E. PRIZE
Panorama: The Bubble, by Eytan Fox
Forum: Heimatklänge (Echoes Of Home), by Stefan Schwietert
LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS
El Camino de los Ingleses (Summer Rain), by Antonio Banderas
MANFRED-SALZGEBER-PRIZE
The Tracey Fragments, by Bruce McDonald
Special Mention: Happy New Life, by Arpad Bogdan
PANORAMA PUBLIKUMSPREISE
Blindsight, by Lucy Walker
TEDDY AWARDS
Feature film Ci-Qing (Spider Lilies), by Zero Chou
Special Mention: La Leon, by Santiago Otheguy
Documentary: A Walk Into The Sea: Danny Williams And The Warhol Factory,
by Esther B. Robinson
Special Teddy: Helmut Berger
Teddy Ballot Volkswagen Audience Award: Notes On A Scandal, by Richard Eyre
DIALOGUE EN PERSPECTIVE
Prinzessinnenbad (Pool Of Princesses), by Bettina Blümner
Special Mention: Hotel Very Welcome, by Sonja Heiss
CALIGARI FILM PRIZE
Kurz davor ist es passiert (It happened just before), by Anja Salomonowitz
Special Mention: Wolfsbergen, by Nanouk Leopold
NETPAC-PRIZE ex-aequo
Tuli, by Auraeus Solito
Ichijiku no kao (Faces Of A Fig Tree), by Momoi Kaori
PEACE FILM AWARD
Goodbye Bafana, by Bille August
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE
When Darkness Falls, by Anders Nilsson
FEMINA FILM PRIZE
Bettina Böhler for editing in Yella by Christian Petzold
TAGESSPIEGEL READERS' PRIZE
Heimatklange, by Stefan Schwietert
BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS' PRIZE
Irina Palm, by Sam Garbarski
SIEGESSÄULE READERS' AWARD
The Bubble, by Eytan Fox
PRIZE OF THE BERLINALE TALENT CAMPUS
VOLKSWAGEN SCORE COMPETITION
Ilja Coric
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