We certainly didn’t get. We called it “his most glaring felony in recent years,” “big misstep” and a “near embarrassment” but critics pretty much seemed to embrace Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer,” and he walked away with the Best Director trophy at the 2010 Berlinale. Of course, the director wasn’t able to attend the event as he’s still under house arrest in Switzerland. “Even if I could, I wouldn’t because the last time I went to a festival to get a prize, I ended up in jail,” Polanski told his producer. Touché.
However, the film couldn’t shake the Golden Bear from Semih Kaplanoglu who won for “Bal” (Honey). The film about “a young boy and his beekeeper father” is Kaplanoglu’s fifth feature and his first major win at the festival.
Some other notable prizes handed out in Berlin included the FIPRESCI Teddy Queer Film Award for Best Feature to Lisa Cholodenko’s “The Kids Are All Alright.” The film, about a brother and sister who set out find their same sex parents’ sperm donor, has been earning nothing but raves and we can’t wait to see it. We just hope it doesn’t get lost in summer blockbuster shuffle when it opens on July 7th.
Also James Franco took home the FIPRESCI Teddy Queer Film Award for Best Short Film for “The Feast Of Stephen.” The film, born out of a film class at NYU, is based on a poem by Anthony Hecht. Franco actually has a quite a few shorts and features under his belt, but he genuinely seems interested in expanding his craft so we’re happy for him.
The complete (and staggeringly long) list of winners is below:
Golden Bear:
“Bal” (Honey), directed by Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey/Germany) Silver Bear – The Jury Grand Prize:
“Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier” (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), directed by Florin Serban (Romania/Sweden) Silver Bear – Best Director:
Roman Polanski for “The Ghost Writer” (France/Germany/Great Britain) Silver Bear – Best Actress:
Shinobu Terajima in “Caterpillar” (Japan) Silver Bear – Best Actor (shared):
Grigori Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis in “Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom” (How I Ended This Summer) (Russia) Silver Bear – Best Screenplay:
“Tuan Yuan” (Apart Together), written by Wang Quan’an and Na Jin (China) Silver Bear – Artistic Contribution:
“Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom” (How I Ended This Summer), cinematography by Pavel Kostomarov (Russia) Alfred Bauer Prize (shared):
“Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier” (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), directed by Florin Serban (Romania/Sweden) Best First Feature Award:
“Sebbe,” directed by Babak Najafi (Sweden)Other awards at the 2010 Berlinale: Panorama Audience Award 2009
“Waste Land,” directed by Lucy Walker, Joao Jardim & Karen Harley
2nd place: “Budrus,” directed by Julia Bacha
3rd place: “Daniel Schmid – Le chat qui pense,” directed by Pascal Hofmann, Benny Jaberg Ecumenical Jury Prize:
Competition: “Bal” (Honey) directed by Semih Kaplanoglu
Panorama: “Kawasakiho ruze” (Kawasaki’s Rose) directed by Jan Hrebejk
Forum: “Aisheen [Still Alive in Gaza]” directed by Nicolas Wadimoff FIPRESCI Prizes:Competition: “En Familie” (A Family) directed by Pernille Fischer Christensen
Panorama: “Parade” directed by Isao Yukisada
Forum: “El vuelco del cangrejo” (Crab Trap) directed by Oscar Ruiz Navia “Label Europa Cinemas”:
“Die Fremde” (When We Leave) directed by Feo Aladag Teddy – Queer Film Award:
Best Feature Film: “The Kids Are All Right” directed by Lisa Cholodenko
Best Documentary Film: “La bocca del lupo” (The Mouth of the Wolf) directed by Pietro Marcello
Best Short Film: “The Feast Of Stephen” directed by James Franco
Teddy Jury Award: “Open” directed by Jake Yuzna Peace Film Award:
“Son Of Babylon” directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji Amnesty International Film Prize:
“Son Of Babylon” directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji
ex aequo: “Waste Land” directed by Lucy Walker, Joao Jardim, Karen Harley Prizes of the Berlin Talent Campus:
Berlin Today Award: Bryn Chainey (Australia) for “Jonah and the Vicarious Nature of Homesickness”
Score Competition: Camilo Sanabria (Colombia)Crystal Bears and Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk Awards in Generation Kplus Crystal Bear for the Best Film: “Shui Yuet Sun Tau” directed by Alex Law, Hongkong (China) 2009
Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: “Franswa Sharl” directed by Hannah Hillard (Australia) 2009
