The jury of the 73rd Berlinale, chaired by American star Kristen Stewart, unveiled its winners on Saturday evening.
Nineteen films were in the running to succeed
Nos Soleils
, a Catalan ode to agriculture by the Spanish Carla Simon, crowned last year.
Verdict is the documentary
Sur l'Adamant
by Frenchman Nicolas Philibert which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival on Saturday.
Two decades after the immense success of
Being and Having
, the 72-year-old documentary filmmaker leaves school to board a barge that welcomes people suffering from mental disorders in Paris.
In his film, Nicolas Philibert's team boards the barge and meets patients and caregivers who "
try to resist as much as they can the decay and dehumanization of psychiatry
", according to the synopsis. of the movie.
"
I tried to reverse the image that we always have of crazy people, so discriminating
," said Nicolas Philibert, reading a short speech prepared in English after receiving his award.
“
I want us to be able, if we are not able to identify with them, at least recognize what unites us beyond our differences, something like a common humanity,” he added
.
"
As we all know, the craziest people are not the ones we believe in
," he concluded to thunderous applause.
Philippe Garrel Best Director Award
French director Philippe Garrel received the Silver Bear for best director at the 73rd Berlinale on Saturday for "
Le Grand Chariot
", a film that looks like an artistic testament shot with his children.
"
Long live the Iranian revolution
", declared this heir to the New Wave when receiving his prize which he also dedicated "
to Jean-Luc Godard, who is (...) a very great master, who is no longer this world
,” who died in September.
The 74-year-old filmmaker swears that he did not want to make an “
autofiction
” with “
Le Grand Chariot
”, even if the film stages his own family in an almost transparent way and questions the idea of artistic heritage and success.
Louis Garrel, the eldest, plays under his own name, as does his half-sister Léna, while his other sister Esther has chosen to be called Martha in the film.
They play the children of a puppeteer, a profession exercised by Philippe Garrel's own father before becoming an actor.
On the death of the puppeteer, each child will make his own artistic choices or not, Louis flying on his own and becoming a well-known actor while his sisters prefer to take over the family puppet theatre.
Interpretation Prize to a little Spaniard, Sofia Otero
A little Spanish girl, Sofia Otera, won the Silver Bear for Best Performance awarded on Saturday by the Berlinale jury for her role in "
20,000 especies de abejas
" ("
20,000 species of bees
").
In this film, the Spaniard Estíbaliz Urresola powerfully tackles a very contemporary subject, the question of transidentity in children.
Sofia Otera, who plays an eight-year-old child in the feature film, tearfully thanked the jury.
The secondary interpretation prize was awarded to the Austrian Thea Ehre, very active for transsexual rights, for her role in “
Till The End of The Night
”.
This film by German director Christoph Hochhäusler tells a love story set against the backdrop of an investigation into a drug dealer.