History was made at this year’s Berlinale as Asghar Farhadi’s drama Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin (Nader and Simin: A Separation) became the first Iranian film to win the prestigious Golden Bear, the top prize awarded at the festival. In a rare showing of overwhelming support for the film, the entire male and female cast was also awarded the Silver Bears for best actor and actress.

The Silver Bear, also known as The Jury Grand Prize, went to Bela Tarr’s A Torinoi Lo (The Turin Horse), a powerfully bleak black and white masterpiece that is reportedly the final film from the Hungarian auteur.

 

The jury, this year led by actress Isabella Rossellini bestowed prizes to both German films that were in competition, a notable event as awards given to films from the host country are a somewhat rare occurrence at the festival. Ulrich Köhler was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Direction for his Schlafkrankheit (Sleeping Sickness), while Wer Wenn Nicht Wir (If Not Us, Who) won the Alfred Bauer prize, which recognizes a film that opens new perspectives in the art of filmmaking.

The Silver Bear for Best Screenplay went to Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj, co-writers of the Albanian-set The Forgiveness of Blood, a film that was screened at the tail end of the festival. The Best First Feature award, which carries a prize of 50,000 Euros, was given to On The Ice, by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean.

A complete list of awards follows:

Golden Bear:Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin (Nader and Simin, A Separation) by Asghar Farhadi

Silver Bear - The Jury Grand Prize:A Torinoi Lo (The Turin Horse) by Bela Tarr

Silver Bear - Best Director: Ulrich Kohler for Schlafkrankheit (Sleeping Sickness)

Silver Bear - Best Actress: Female Ensemble for Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Kimia Hosseini, and Shirin Yazdanbakhsh

Silver Bear - Best Actor: Male Ensemble for Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin  Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Ali-Asghar Shahbazi, and Babak Karimi

Silver Bear - Best Screenplay:The Forgiveness of Blood written by Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj

Silver Bear - Artistic Contribution (shared): Wojciech Staron, Best Cinematography, for El Premio (The Prize) and Barbara Enriquez, Production Design, for El Premio

Alfred Bauer Prize:If Not Us Who (Wer Wenn Nicht Wir) by Andres Veiel

Best First Feature Award:On the Ice by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean

Special Mention:The Guard by John Michael McDonagh

Special Mention:Die Vaterlosen (Fatherless) by Marie Kreutzer

Awards handed out earlier at the festival:

Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize), Competition:A Torinoi Lo (The Turin Horse) by Bela Tarr

Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize), Panorama:Dernier Etage Gauche Gauche (Top Floor Left Wing) by Angelo Cianci

Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize), Forum:Heaven’s Story by Zeze Takahisa

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Competition:Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin by Asghar Farhadi

Special Mention:The Forgiveness of Blood by Joshua Marston

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Panorama:Lo Roim Alaich (Invisible) by Michal Aviad

Special Mention:Barzakh by Mantas Kvedaravicius

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, Forum:En Terrians Connus (On Familiar Ground) by Stephanie Lafleur

Special Mention:De Engel Van Doel (An Angel in Doel) by Tom Fassaert

Panorama Section Audience Award, Fiction Film:  También la lluvia (Even The Rain) by Icíar Bollaín

Second Place:  Medianeras (Sidewalls) by Gustavo Taretto

Third Place:  Life in a Day by Kevin Macdonald

Panorama Section Audience Award, Documentary Film:  Im Himmel, Unter der Erde (In Heaven Underground) by Britta Wauer

Second Place:  Mama Africa by Mika Kaurismäki

Third Place:  We Were Here by David Weissman

Short Film DAAD Scholarship Award:  La Ducha by Maria José San Martín

Dialogue in Perspective Prize (for French-German cultural dialogue): Die Ausbildung (The Education) by Dirk Lütter

Amnesty International Film Prize:Barzakh by Mantas Kvedaravicius

NETPAC Prize:Heaven’s Story by Zeze Takahisa

Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Prize:Jodaeiye Nader Az Simin by Asghar Farhadi

Tagesspiegel Readers’ Prize:Nesvatbov (Matchmaking Mayor) by Erika Hnikova