This year’s Berlinale competition jury was made up of six former winners of the festival’s top prize, the Golden Bear: “There is No Evil” director Mohammad Rasoulof, “Synonyms” filmmaker Nadav Lapid, “Touch Me Not” helmer Adina Pintilie, “On Body and Soul” director Ildiko Enyedi, “Fire at Sea” filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi, and “Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams” director Jasmila Zbanic.
The Silver Bear for Best Director was awarded to Dénes Nagy for the Hungarian World War II drama “Natural Light.” The jury said in a statement: “Appalling and beautifully shot, mesmerizing images, remarkable direction and a masterful control of every aspect of the craft of filmmaking, a narration that transcends its historical context. A portrait of war in which the observant gaze of the director reminds us again of the need to choose between passivity and taking individual responsibility.”
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Below is the full list of competition winners for the 2021 Berlin International Film Festival:
Golden Bear “Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn,” dir: Radu Jude
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize “Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy,” dir: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
Silver Bear Jury Prize Maria Speth, “Mr Bachmann And His Class”
Silver Bear For Best Director Dénes Nagy, “Natural Light”
Silver Bear Best Leading Performance Maren Eggert, “I’m Your Man”
Silver Bear Best Supporting Performance Lilla Kizlinger, “Forest – I See You Everywhere”
Silver Bear Best Screenplay Hong Sang-soo, “Introduction”
Silver Bear Outstanding Artistic Contribution Yibrán Asuad for the editing of “A Cop Movie”
And here are the winners for the Encounters section:
Best Film “We,” dir: Alice Diop
Special Jury Award “Taste,” dir: Lê Bảo
Best Director – Tie Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher for “The Girl And The Spider” Denis Côté for “Social Hygiene”
Special Mention “Rock Bottom Riser,” dir: by Fern Silva
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