The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
The festival opening gala was presented by actor Samuel Finzi, followed by the world premiere My Salinger Year, directed by Philippe Falardeau. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Iranian film There Is No Evil, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof.
Juries
Main competition Jeremy Irons, British actor - Jury President Bérénice Bejo, French actress Bettina Brokemper, German producer Annemarie Jacir, Palestinian filmmaker and poet Kenneth Lonergan, American playwright and filmmaker Luca Marinelli, Italian actor Kleber Mendonça Filho, Brazilian filmmaker, producer and film critic
Encounters Shōzō Ichiyama, Japanese producer Dominga Sotomayor, Chilean filmmaker and producer Eva Trobisch, German filmmaker
First Feature Award Ognjen Glavonić, Serbian filmmaker Hala Lotfy, Egyptian filmmaker, producer and founder of Hassala Films Gonzalo de Pedro Amatria, film scholar
Documentary Award Gerd Kroske, German filmmaker Marie Losier, French filmmaker and curator Alanis Obomsawin, Canadian filmmaker, singer and artist
Short Film Competition Réka Bucsi, Hungarian filmmaker Fatma Çolakoğlu, Turkish curator Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese, Sotho filmmaker and artist
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 countryAll the Dead Ones Todos os mortos Caetano Gotardo and Marco Dutra Brazil, FranceBad Tales Favolacce Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo Italy, SwitzerlandBerlin Alexanderplatz Burhan Qurbani Germany, Netherlands, FranceDAU. Natasha Ilya Khrzhanovskiy and Jekaterina Oertel Germany, Ukraine, United Kingdom, RussiaDays 日子 Tsai Ming-liang TaiwanDelete History Effacer l'historique Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern France, BelgiumFirst Cow Kelly Reichardt United StatesHidden Away Volevo nascondermi Giorgio Diritti ItalyThe Intruder El Prófugo Natalia Meta Argentina, MexicoIrradiated Irradiés Rithy Panh France, CambodiaMy Little Sister Schwesterlein Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond SwitzerlandNever Rarely Sometimes Always Eliza Hittman United StatesThe Roads Not Taken Sally Potter United KingdomThe Salt of Tears Le sel des larmes Philippe Garrel France, SwitzerlandSiberia Abel Ferrara Italy, Germany, MexicoThere Is No Evil شیطان وجود نداردMohammad Rasoulof Germany, Czech Republic, IranUndine Christian Petzold Germany, FranceThe Woman Who Ran 도망친 여자 Hong Sang-soo South Korea
Out of Competition - Berlinale Special The following films were selected for the Berlinale Special section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country The American Sector Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez United States Charlatan Šarlatán Agnieszka Holland Czech Republic, Ireland, Poland, Slovakia Curveball Johannes Naber Germany DAU. Degeneration DAU. Degeneratsia Ilya Khrzhanovskiy and Ilya Permyakov Germany, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Russia Golda Maria Patrick Sobelman and Hugo Sobelman France High Ground Stephen Maxwell Johnson Australia Hillary (series) Nanette Burstein United States Last and First Men Jóhann Jóhannsson Iceland Minamata Andrew Levitas United Kingdom My Salinger Year Philippe Falardeau Canada, Ireland Night Shift Police Anne Fontaine France Numbers Nomera Oleh Sentsov and Akhtem Seitablayev Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, France The Nutty Professor (1963) Jerry Lewis United States Onward Dan Scanlon Paris Calligrammes Ulrike Ottinger Germany, France Persian Lessons Persischstunden Vadim Perelman Russia, Germany, Belarus Pinocchio Matteo Garrone Italy, France, United Kingdom Speer Goes to Hollywood שפאר בדרך להוליווד Vanessa Lapa Israel Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue 一直游到海水变蓝 Jia Zhangke China Time to Hunt 사냥의 시간 Yoon Sung-hyun South Korea
Encounters The following films were selected for the new Encounters section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country Funny Face Tim Sutton United States Gunda Victor Kossakovsky Norway, United States Isabella Matías Piñeiro Argentina Kill It and Leave This Town Zabij to i wyjedz z tego miasta Mariusz Wilczyński Poland Los Conductos Camilo Restrepo Brazil, Colombia, France The Last City Die letzte Stadt Heinz Emigholz Germany Malmkrog Cristi Puiu Bosnia, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland The Metamorphosis of Birds A metamorfose dos pássaros Catarina Vasconcelos Portugal Naked Animals Nackte Tiere Melanie Waelde Germany Orphea Khavn and Alexander Kluge Servants Služobníci Ivan Ostrochovský Czech Republic, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia The Shepherdess and the Seven Songs Laila aur satt geet Pushpendra Singh India Shirley Josephine Decker United States The Trouble with Being Born Sandra Wollner Austria, Germany The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) Anders Edström and C.W. Winter Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
Panorama The following films were selected for the Panorama section:
English title Original title Director(s) Production country All Hands on Deck À L'abordage Guillaume Brac France Always Amber Alltid Amber Lia Hietala and Hannah Reinikainen Sweden The Assistant Kitty Green United States Black Milk Schwarze Milch Uisenma Borchu Germany, Mongolia A Common Crime Un crimen común Francisco Márquez Argentina, Brazil, Switzerland Digger Georgis Grigorakis Greece, France Dry Wind Vento Seco Daniel Nolasco Brazil Eeb Allay Ooo! Prateek Vats India Exile Exil Visar Morina Belgium, Germany, Kosovo Father Otac Srdan Golubović Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia Hope Håp Maria Sødahl Norway, Sweden If It Were Love Si c'était de l'amour Patric Chiha France Mare Andrea Štaka Croatia, Switzerland Minyan Eric Steel United States Mughal Mowgli Bassam Tariq United Kingdom No Hard Feelings Futur Drei Faraz Shariat Germany Notes from the Underworld Aufzeichnungen aus der Unterwelt Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel Austria One in a Thousand Las Mil y Una Clarisa Navas Argentina, Germany One of These Days Bastian Günther Germany, United States Pari Siamak Etemadi Bulgaria, France, Greece, Netherlands Shine Your Eyes Cidade Pássaro Matias Mariani Brazil Sow the Wind Semina il vento Danilo Caputo France, Greece, Italy Suk Suk 叔．叔 Ray Yeung Hong Kong Surge Aneil Karia United Kingdom Wildland Kød & Blod Jeanette Nordahl DenmarkPanorama DokumenteAmazon MirrorO reflexo do lagoFernando SegtowickBrazilBloody Nose, Empty PocketsBill and Turner RossUnited StatesDays of CannibalismTeboho EdkinsFrance, Netherlands, South AfricaThe Foundation PitKotlovan (Котлован)Andrey GryazevRussiaI Dream of SingaporeLei Yuan BinSingapore, Malaysia, United KingdomIf It Were LoveSi c'était de l'amourPatric ChihaFranceLittle GirlPetite filleSébastien LifshitzFrance, BelgiumNardjes A.Karim AïnouzAlgeria, Brazil, France, Germany, QatarRunning on EmptyJetzt oder morgenLisa WeberAustriaSchlingensief – A Voice That Shook the SilenceSchlingensief – In das Schweigen hineinschreienBettina BöhlerGermanyWelcome to ChechnyaDavid FranceUnited States
Berlinale Shorts The following films were selected for the Berlinale shorts section:Laurence Boyce, "A preview of the short films playing at the Berlinale" . Cineuropa, 24 February 2020.
English title Original title Director(s) Production country 2008 Blake Williams Canada À l'entrée de la nuit Anton Bialas France Aletsch Negative Laurence Bonvin Switzerland Atkūrimas Laurynas Bareisa Lithuania Cause of Death Jyoti Mistry South Africa/Austria A Demonstration Sasha Litvintseva, Beny Wagner Germany, Netherlands, United Kingdom Filipiñana Rafael Manuel Philippines, United Kingdom Foam Écume Omar Elhamy Canada Genius Loci Adrien Mérigeau France Girl and Body Charlotte Mars Australia Gumnaam Din Ekta Mittal India HaMa'azin Omer Sterenberg Israel How to Disappear Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner, Michael Stumpf Austria Huntsville Station Jamie Meltzer, Chris Filippone United States Inflorescence Nicolaas Schmidt Germany It Wasn't the Right Mountain, Mohammad Mili Pecherer France My Galactic Twin GalactionМой галактический двойник Галактион Sasha Svirsky Russia Playback Ensayo de una despedida Agustina Comedi Argentina She Who Wears the Rain Celle qui porte la pluie Marianne Métivier Canada So We Live Rand Abou Fakher Belgium Stump the Guesser Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson Canada T Keisha Rae Witherspoon United States Union County Adam Meeks Veitstanz/Feixtanz (1988) Gabriele Stötzer East Germany
Other sections The Berlinale retrospective included more than 30 films by Hollywood filmmaker King Vidor. The homage was dedicated to Helen Mirren, with Mirren awarded with the Honorary Golden Bear. The Berlinale Camera was awarded to Ulrike Ottinger followed by the world premiere of Ottinger's documentary Paris Calligrammes.
The Series section, introduced in 2015, is devoted to longform television series. In 2020, there were two Australian entries: Stateless and Mystery Road Series 2.
Official Awards The following prizes were awarded:
Main Competition Golden Bear: There Is No Evil by Mohammad Rasoulof Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: Never Rarely Sometimes Always by Eliza Hittman Silver Bear for Best Director: Hong Sang-soo for The Woman Who Ran Silver Bear for Best Actress: Paula Beer for Undine Silver Bear for Best Actor: Elio Germano for Hidden Away Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo for Bad Tales Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Jürgen Jürges for DAU. Natasha (cinematography) Silver Bear 70th Berlinale: Delete History by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern
Short Film Competition Golden Bear for Best Short Film: Keisha Rae Witherspoon for T
Best First Feature Camilo Restrepo for Los conductos
Encounters Best Film: The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) by C.W. Winter & Anders Edström Best Director: Cristi Puiu for Malmkrog Special Jury Award: The Trouble with Being Born by Sandra Wollner Special Mention: Isabella by Matías Piñeiro
Panorama Audience Award: 1st Place: Father by Srdan Golubović 2nd Place: No Hard Feelings by Faraz Shariat 3rd Place: Hope by Maria Sødahl Audience Award – Documentaries: 1st Place: Welcome to Chechnya by David France 2nd Place: Saudi Runaway by Susanne Regina Meures 3rd Place: Little Girl by Sébastien Lifshitz
Generation
Generation 14Plus Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Our Lady of the Nile by Atiq Rahimi Special Mention: White Riot by Rubika Shah Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: Mutts by Halima Ouardiri Special Mention: Goodbye Golovin by Mathieu Grimard Grand Prix of the Generation 14Plus International Jury for the Best Film: My Name Is Baghdad by Caru Alves de Souza Special Mention: Voices in the Wind by Nobuhiro Suwa Special Prize of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Short Film: Mutts by Halima Ouardiri Special Mention: White Winged Horse by Mahyar Mandegar
Generation KPlus Crystal Bear for Best Film: Sweet Thing by Alexandre Rockwell Special Mention: H Is for Happiness by John Sheedy Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: The Name of the Son by Martina Matzkin Special Mention: Miss by Amira Géhanne Khalfallah The Grand Prix of the International Jury in Generation Kplus for the Best Film: The Wolves by Samuel Kishi Leopo Special Mention: Cuties by Maïmouna Doucouré Mum, Mum, Mum by Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière Special Prize of the International Jury in Generation Kplus for the Best Short Film: The Name of the Son by Martina Matzkin Special Mention: The Kites by Seyed Payam Hosseini
Independent Awards
Teddy Award Best Feature Film: No Hard Feelings by Faraz Shariat Best Documentary/Essay Film: If It Were Love by Patric Chiha