Mati Diop’s Dahomey was awarded the Golden Bear during the February 25 awards ceremony of Berlinale 2024. The work concerns the return of 26 of the royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey to Benin.
In the Encounters section, the Best Film nod was given to Direct Action by Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell. The film documents the everyday lives of one of the most important activist communities in France in order to see how the success of a radical protest movement can offer a path through the climate crisis facing us all.
The Berlinale Documentary Award went to No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, produced by by Fabien Greenberg and Bård Kjøge Rønning. The film describes the destruction of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli authorities and the unlikely alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval. Direct Action by Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell received a Special Mention.
The Panorama Fipresci Award was handed to Faruk by Aslı Özge. Faruk, a man in his nineties, increasingly becomes the protagonist in the film his daughter is making about the impending demolition of his block of flats in Istanbul.
The Teddy for Best Documentary went to Teaches of Peaches. Seamlessly weaving together exclusive archival gems with dynamic tour footage, this documentary captures the transformative journey of Canadian Merrill Nisker into the internationally acclaimed cultural powerhouse that is Peaches.
The Peace Film Prize was awarded to Favoriten by Ruth Beckermann. The director accompanies a primary school class in Vienna for three years. Despite the difficult conditions at the school, this is an astonishingly cheerful film – about teaching, learning and the often very surprising experiences somewhere in between.
The Panorama Audience Award was won by No Other Land by Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor. The film describes the destruction of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli authorities and the unlikely alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.
The Tagesspiegel Readers’ Jury Award was given to Une famille (A Family) by Christine Angot. This cinematographic journey of French novelist Christine Angot, who was abused by her father for years, challenges social norms and family perspectives in dealing with incest.
SPECIAL MENTIONS
The International Jury of the Generation 14plus Competition gave a Special Mention to Maydegol by Sarvnaz Alambeigi. An Afghan teenager living as an immigrant in Iran strives to pursue her dream of becoming a professional Muay Thai boxer while battling the social injustice and violence she encounters beyond the ring.
A Special Mention was also given to the short film Songs of Love and Hate by Saurav Ghimire. The sudden disappearance of the popular host of a relationship advice radio show leaves a vacuum. Listeners are uncertain about the direction their romantic endeavours should take.
The Ecumenical Jury gave a Special Mention to Oksana Karpovych for Intercepted in Berlin Forum. The destruction caused by the war against Ukraine is shown in lengthy tableaux. Intercepted phone conversations between Russian soldiers and their families set up a shocking parallel world. Sound and image stare each other in the face, stunned.
