The 69th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 7 to 17 February 2019. French actress Juliette Binoche served as the Jury President.
Lone Scherfig's drama film The Kindness of Strangers opened the festival. The Golden Bear was won by Israeli-French drama Synonyms directed by Nadav Lapid, which also served as the closing film of the festival.
Juries
Main competition Juliette Binoche, French actress - Jury President Justin Chang, American journalist and film critic Sandra Hüller, German actress Sebastián Lelio, Chilean film director and screenwriter Rajendra Roy, American chief curator of MoMA Trudie Styler, British actress, producer and film director
First Feature Award Jury Katja Eichinger, German journalist, writer and film producer Alain Gomis, French filmmaker Vivian Qu, Chinese filmmaker and producer
Documentary Award Jury Maria Bonsanti, Italian artistic director and director of the Eurodoc program Gregory Nava, American film director, screenwriter and producer Maria Ramos, Brazilian film director
International Short Film Jury Jeffrey Bowers, American curator Vanja Kaludjercic, Croatian programmer and purchasing director of MUBI Koyo Kouoh, Cameroonian author, curator and artistic director of RAW Material Company
Official Sections
Main Competition The following films were selected for the main competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country By the Grace of God Grâce à dieu François Ozon France Elisa & Marcela Elisa y Marcela Isabel Coixet Spain Ghost Town Anthology Répertoire des villes disparues Denis Côté Canada God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija Господ постои, името ѝ е Петрунија Teona Strugar Mitevska Belgium, Croatia, France, Macedonia, Slovenia The Golden Glove Der Goldene Handschuh Fatih Akin France, Germany The Ground Beneath My Feet Der Boden unter den Füßen Marie Kreutzer Austria The Kindness of Strangers (opening film) Lone Scherfig Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States I Was at Home, But Ich war zuhause, aber Angela Schanelec Germany, Serbia Mr Jones Agnieszka Holland Poland, Ukraine, United Kingdom Öndög Wang Quan'an Mongolia Out Stealing Horses Ut og stjæle hester Hans Petter Moland Denmark, Norway, Sweden Piranhas La paranza dei bambini Claudio Giovannesi Italy So Long, My Son 地久天長 Wang Xiaoshuai China Synonyms Synonymes Nadav Lapid France, Germany, Israel System Crasher Systemsprenger Nora Fingscheidt Germany A Tale of Three Sisters Kız Kardeşler Emin Alper Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Turkey
Out of competition The following films were selected to be screened out of competition:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Amazing Grace Alan Elliott United States Farewell to the Night L'adieu à la nuit André Téchiné France, Germany Marighella Wagner Moura Brazil The Operative Yuval Adler France, Germany, Israel, United States Varda by Agnès Varda par Agnès Agnès Varda France Vice Adam McKay United States
Panorama The following films were selected for the Panorama section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country 37 Seconds 37秒 Hikari Japan Acid Кислота Alexander Gorchilin Russia All My Loving Geschwister Edward Berger Germany The Breath Der Atem Uli M Schueppel Germany Brief Story from the Green Planet Breve historia del planeta verde Santiago Loza Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Spain Buoyancy Rodd Rathjen Australia Chained עינויים שלי Yaron Shani Israel, Germany Dafne Federico Bondi Italy The Day After I'm Gone היום שאחרי לאחת Nimrod Eldar Israel Divine Love Divino Amor Gabriel Mascaro Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Uruguay A Dog Barking at the Moon 再见南屏晚钟 Xiang Zi China, Spain Family Members Los miembros de la familia Mateo Bendesky Argentina Flatland Jenna Bass South Africa, Germany, Luxembourg Flesh Out Michela Occhipinti Italy Greta* Armando Praça Brazil Hellhole Bas Devos Belgium, Netherlands Holy Beasts La fiera y la fiesta Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico Idol 우상 Lee Su-jin South Korea Jessica Forever Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel France Light of My Life Casey Affleck United States Mid90s Jonah Hill United States Midnight Traveler Hassan Fazili Canada, Qatar, United Kingdom, United States The Miracle of the Sargasso Sea* To thávma tis thálassas ton Sargassón Syllas Tzoumerkas Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Sweden Monos Alejandro Landes Argentina, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Uruguay O Beautiful Night Doch wir lächeln zurück Xaver Xylophon Germany The Shadow Play 风中有朵雨做的云 Lou Ye China Skin Guy Nattiv United States The Souvenir Joanna Hogg United Kingdom, United States Staff Only Neus Ballús France, Spain Stitches Šavovi Miroslav Terzić Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia Tremors Temblores Jayro Bustamante France, Guatemala, LuxembourgPanorama DokumenteBeauty and DecaySchönheit & VergänglichkeitAnnekatrin HendelGermanyA Dog Called MoneySeamus MurphyIreland, United KingdomLemebelJoanna Reposi GaribaldiChile, ColombiaNormalAdele TulliItaly, SwedenOn the Starting LineLa ArrancadaAldemar MatiasBrazil, Cuba, FranceSearching EvaPia HellenthalGermanySelfieAgostino FerrenteFrance, ItalySerendipityPrune NourryUnited StatesShooting the MafiaKim LonginottoIreland, United KingdomSystem KSystème KRenaud BarretFranceTalking About TreesSuhaib GasmelbariChad, France, Germany, Qatar, SudanWaiting for the CarnivalEstou Me Guardando Para Quando O Carnaval ChegarMarcelo GomesBrazilWestern ArabsOmar ShargawiDenmark, NetherlandsWhat She Said: The Art of Pauline KaelRob GarverUnited States
Berlinale Special The following films were selected for the Berlinale Special section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Anthropocene: The Human Epoch Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky Canada The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind Chiwetel Ejiofor United Kingdom Brecht Heinrich Breloer Austria, Germany, Czech Republic The North El Norte Gregory Nava United Kingdom, United States Gully Boy Zoya Akhtar India It Could Have Been Worse – Mario Adorf Es hätte schlimmer kommen können – Mario Adorf Dominik Wessely Germany Kids in the Spotlight Lampenfieber Alice Agneskirchner Germany Peter Lindbergh – Women Stories Jean Michel Vecchiet Germany Photograph Ritesh Batra Germany, India, United States Watergate Charles Ferguson United States Who You Think I Am Celle que vous croyez Safy Nebbou France You Only Live Once – Die Toten Hosen on Tour Weil du nur einmal lebst – Die Toten Hosen auf Tour Cordula Kablitz-Post Germany
Short Film Competition The following films were selected for the Berlinale Shorts section: English title Original title Director(s) Production country All on a Mardi Gras Day Michal Pietrzyk United StatesThe Station (out of competition)Al MahattaEltayeb MahdiSudanBlue BoyManuel AbramovichArgentina/GermanyCan't You See Them? - Repeat.Clarissa ThiemeGermany/Bosnia and HerzegovinaRed Rubber Boots (out of competition)Crvene gumene čizmeJasmila ŽbanićBosnia/HerzegovinaEntropiaFlóra Anna BudaHungaryFlexible BodiesLouis Fried GermanyHéctorVictoria Giesen CarvajalChileHow to Breathe in Kern CountyChris FilipponeUnited StatesIt has to be lived once and dreamed twiceRainer KohlbergerGermany/AustriaKingdomTan Wei KeongSingaporeThe Golden LegendLeyenda doradaChema García Ibarra, Ion de SosaSpainMr. MareLidérc úrLuca TóthHungary/FranceBlessed LandMot Khu Dat TotPham Ngoc LanVietnamIn BetweenNë MesSamir KarahodaKosovoOmarskaVarun SasindranFrancePast PerfectJorge JácomePortugalCatching FirePrendre feuMichaël SoyezFrancePalace of ColoursRang MahalPrantik BasuIndiaRiseBárbara Wagner, Benjamin de BurcaBrazil/Canada/USAShaktiMartín RejtmanArgentina/Chile The Spirit Keepers of Makuta'ay Yen-Chao Lin Canada Splash Shen Jie China Watermelon Juice Suc de síndria Irene Moray Spain Umbra Florian Fischer, Johannes Krell Germany World on Board Welt an Bord Eva Könnemann Germany
Official Awards
The following prizes were awarded:
Main Competition Golden Bear: Synonyms by Nadav Lapid Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: By the Grace of God by François Ozon Alfred Bauer Prize: System Crasher by Nora Fingscheidt Silver Bear for Best Director: Angela Schanelec for I Was at Home, But Silver Bear for Best Actress: Yong Mei for So Long, My Son Silver Bear for Best Actor: Wang Jingchun for So Long, My Son Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Maurizio Braucci, Claudio Giovannesi and Roberto Saviano for Piranhas Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Rasmus Videbæk for Out Stealing Horses (Cinematography)
Golden Bear for Best Short Film Umbra by Florian Fischer and Johannes Krell
Panorama
Panorama Audience Award 1st Place: 37 Seconds by Hikari 2nd Place: Stitches by Miroslav Terzić 3rd Place: Buoyancy by Rodd Rathjen
Panorama Audience Award – Documentaries 1st Place: Talking About Trees by Suhaib Gasmelbari 2nd Place: Midnight Traveler by Hassan Fazili and Emelie Mahdavian 3rd Place: Shooting the Mafia by Kim Longinotto
Generation
Generation 14Plus
Crystal Bear for Best Film: Stupid Young Heart by Selma Vilhunen Special Mention: We Are Little Zombies by Makoto Nagahisa Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: Tattoo by Farhad Delaram Special Mention: Four Quartets by Marco Alessi
Generation KPlus
Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Film: House of Hummingbird by Kim Bo-ra Special Mention: Bulbul Can Sing by Rima Das Special Prize of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Short Film: Liberty by Faren Humes Special Mention: The Jarariju Sisters by Jorge Cadena
Independent Awards
Teddy Award Best Feature Film: Brief Story from the Green Planet by Santiago Loza Best Documentary/Essay Film: Lemebel by Joanna Reposi Garibaldi Best Short Film: Entropia by Flóra Anna Buda Special Jury Award: A Dog Barking at the Moon by Xiang Zi Special Teddy Award: Falk Richter TEDDY Readers’ Award Powered by QUEER.DE: Brief Story from the Green Planet by Santiago Loza
FIPRESCI Prize Competition: Synonyms by Nadav Lapid Panorama: Dafne by Federico Bondi Forum: Die Kinder der Toten by Kelly Copper and Pavol Liska
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Competition: God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija by Teona Strugar Mitevska Panorama: Buoyancy by Rodd Rathjen Special Mention: Midnight Traveler by Hassan Fazili and Emelie Mahdavian Forum: Earth by Nikolaus Geyrhalter
CICAE Art Cinema Award Panorama: 37 Seconds by HIKARI Forum: Our Defeats by Jean-Gabriel Périot
Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Jury Award System Crasher by Nora Fingscheidt
Tagesspiegel Readers' Jury Award Monsters. by Marius Olteanu
Guild Film Prize God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunija by Teona Strugar Mitevska
Caligari Film Prize Heimat Is A Space in Time by Thomas Heise
Heiner Carow Prize Beauty and Decay by Annekatrin Hendel
Compass-Perspektive-Award Born in Evin by Maryam Zaree
Kompagnon-Fellowship Perspektive Deutsches Kino: To Be Continued by Julian Pörksen Berlinale Talents: Transit Times by Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu
ARTEKino International Prize A Responsible Adult by Shira Geffen
Eurimages Co-Production Development Award Avalon PC for Alcarràs
VFF Talent Highlight Award Vincenzo Cavallo for Bufis
Amnesty International Film Award Your Turn by Eliza Capai
Label Europa Cinemas Stitches by Miroslav Terzić
Peace Film Prize Your Turn by Eliza Capai Special Mention: System K by Renaud Barret Midnight Traveler by Hassan Fazili and Emelie Mahdavian
References
External links
Berlin International Film Festival