Maria Speth’s Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse (Mr Bachmann and His Class, pictured) was awarded the Silver Bear Jury Prize at the close of Berlinale 2021.
The Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution was awarded to Yibrán Asuad for the editing on Una película de policías (A Cop Movie) by Alonso Ruizpalacios.
The Jury statement for the Silver Bear Jury Prize for Mr Bachmann and His Class reads: “In a film, you can draw attention to deep problems by sticking your finger into the wound or showing hope and giving inspiration as how to achieve a positive change. The latter is the strategy that the director of this tenderly powerful documentary chose to follow.
“Always keeping the right distance, the film focuses on one of those ‘field workers’ of our society who defines the most formative years of our children, influencing deeply their attitude towards life. As seen through the eyes of the director, this teacher is unique: he reshapes, softens, and makes more human, and through that humanity makes much more efficient a system in crisis – our European educational system.
“The film shows how far you can go simply with true respect, sincere communication, and with that magic all great teachers possess: sparking the fire of passion in their students by activating their fantasy.”
The Jury statement for the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution (Yibrán Asuad for the editing on Una película de policías by Alonso Ruizpalacios) reads how it was awarded for “the masterful editing concept of a daring, innovative work of cinema which blurs the boundaries between fiction and reality and boldly explores the cinematic language’s ability to shift our perspective on the world. Playing an essential role in supporting the filmmaker’s unique vision, the montage skilfully deconstructs the multiple layers of reality and language to offer an in-depth, thought-provoking look into one of Mexico’s most controversial institutions.”
As reported March 4, the Flemish doc Nanu Tudor won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film.
