On Wednesday, the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival awarded the Golden Bear to Carla Simon’s semi-autobiographical drama “Alcarras,” about a family of peach farmers fighting for their future.
For the first time in two years, the Berlinale was held in person, but it was a shorter competition than normal, with severe audience regulations just as Covid-19 infections were peaking in Germany.
The jury was directed by Indian-born American director M. Night Shyamalan, who chose 18 films from 15 nations to compete for the Golden Bear (“The Sixth Sense”).
Simon, 35, dedicated the award to her family, saying, “I wouldn’t have been able to convey my narrative without them and my attachment to this world.”
Following Cannes and Venice last year, the Berlinale is the third major European film festival in succession to award its top prize to a female director.
Meltem Kaptan, a German-Turkish comedian, won the festival’s second-ever gender-neutral acting award for her role in “Rabiye Kurnaz against George W. Bush.”
The true story of a mother’s quest to bring her son home from Guantanamo Bay is told in the film by German director Andreas Dresen.
The prize was given to “all the mothers whose love is greater than borders,” according to Kaptan.
