Berlinale Wraps: Uma, Prizes, Foreign Film Oscar Hopefuls
Sunday, February 16, 2014 at 8:40AM 
Richard Linklater with his Silver BearOne of these years we will make it to the Berlinale! The festival closes today and things go quiet on the megawatt festival front until Cannes in May (though festival season never really ends what with regional festivals everywhere and Tribeca, which we'll cover, in the Srping).
Early English language punditry assumed that Richard Linklater's 12 year spanning Boyhood (my review) or Wes Anderson's reportedly delightful Grand Budapest Hotel would win but english language press always assumes that about American pictures. James Schamus jury thought otherwise, though they honored both with prizes, giving the Golden Bear to the Chinese noir Black Coal, Thin Ice. In fact, a lot of prizes went to Asian cinema this year.
Awards, Umas, and Oscar hopefuls after the jump...
MAIN JURY
Golden Bear: Black Coal, Thin Ice by Diao Yinan (China/Hong Kong)
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prix: The Grand Budapest Hotel by Wes Anderson (USA)
Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize: Aimer, Boire Et Chanter (Life of Riley) by Alain Resnais (France)
Silver Bear for Best Director: Richard Linklater for Boyhood (USA)
Haru Kuroki in "The Little House"
Silver Bear for Best Actress: Haru Kuroki for The Little House (Japan)
Silver Bear for Best Actor: Liao Fan for Black Coal, Thin Ice
Given the prolific film industries in China and Japan, it's difficult to say whether either of these titles will be submitted for Oscars in about 8 months time but, regardless, The Little House is definitely one to keep your eye on. The director Yôji Yamada previously had an Oscar nominee in the 2003 Foreign Film category with The Twilight Samurai and this film is about a woman remembering her home life before and during World War II (the Foreign Film category's favorite period for dramas) so it might be worth investigating as a possibility.
Lou Ye's "Blind Massage"
Silver Bear for Best Script: Dietrich & Anna Brüggemann for Stations Of The Cross
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Cinematography: Zeng Jian for Blind Massage
A short clip from "The Way He Looks"
TEDDY (Queer Film)
Best Feature: Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way He Looks) by Daniel Ribeiro (Brazil)
Best Documentary: Der Kreis (The Circle) by Stefan Haupt
Best Short Film: Mondial 2010 by Roy Dib
Teddy Jury Award: Pierrot Lunaire by Bruce LaBruce
The Way He Looks is a Brazilian film about a blind teenager.
SHORT FILM JURY
Golden Bear Best Short Film: As Long As Shotguns Remain by Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel (France)
Silver Bear Jury Prize Short Film: Laborat by Guillaume Cailleau (Germany)
PANORAMA
Best First Feature: Güeros by Alonso Ruizpalacios
(Curiously this appears to be a different director than Alonso Ruiz Palacios of XY fame).
AUDIENCE AWARD
Fiction: Difret by Zeresenay Berhane Mehari (Ethiopia)
2nd Place: Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way He Looks) by Daniel Ribeiro (Brazil)
3rd Place: Patardzlebi (Brides) by Tinatin Kajrishvili (Georgia / France)
by Tinatin Kajrishvili
Documentary: Der Kreis (The Circle) by Stefan Haupt (Switzerland)
2nd Place: Finding Vivian Maier by John Maloof & Charlie Siskel (USA)
3rd Place: My Mother, A War And Me by Tamara Trampe & Johann Feindt (Germany)
GENERATION KPLUS (Children’s Jury)
Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Killa by Avinash Arun (India)
(Special Mention: Hitono Nozomino Yorokobiyo By Masakazu Sugita (Japan)
Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: Sprout by Ga-eun Yoon (Republic of Korea)
(Special Mention: Sepatu Baru by Aditya Ahmad, Indonesia)
GENERATION KPLUS (International Jury)
Grand Prize: Ciencias Naturales by Matías Lucchesi (Argentina/France)
(Special Mention: Killa by Avinash Arun (India))
Best Short Film: Moy Lichniy Los’ by Leonid Shmelkov, Russian Federation
(Special Mention: el by Roland Ferge (Hungary))
Glenn's review of 52 Tuesdays, which also won a prize at Sundance is here
GENERATION 14PLUS (Youth Jury)
Crystal Bear for the Best Film: 52 Tuesdays by Sophie Hyde (Australia)
Special Mention: ärtico by Gabri Velázquez (Spain)
Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: Mike by Petros Silvestros (UK)
Special Mention: Emo (The Musical) by Neil Triffett, Australia
GENERATION 14PLUS (International Jury)
Violet by Bas Devos (Belgium / Netherlands)
Special Mention: Einstein And Einstein by Cao Baoping (China)
Special Prize for the best short film: Vetrarmorgun by Sakaris Stórá (Faroe Islands)
Special Mention: Søn by Kristoffer Kiørboe (Denmark)
Stations of the Cross
PRIZES OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY
Competition: Stations Of The Cross by Dietrich Brüggemann
(Special Mention: ’71 by Yann Demange)
Panorama: Calvary by John Michael McDonagh
(Special Mention: Triptych by Robert Lepage, Pedro Pires)
Forum: At Home by Athanasios Karanikolas
But there are lots more including more "independent juries" like the Teddy Award (which we only list because it's famous and LGBT and because it gets press) if you'd like to dig deep on Berlinale's official site's award page. Have you ever been to Berlin?
And if you haven't been, don't you wish you could hit the town for a movie with a cast as cool as those gathered for The Grand Budapest Hotel?
Or trade self-deprecating barbs with Uma Thurman at Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac press conference, before or after petulant Shia Labeouf stormed out?
Lars kept saying I was overacting, but that's nothing new."
Ha! Love that Uma has a sense of humor about her most frequent critique.
By the way, here's what Uma's been wearing for the past three months at events. Can we get a comeback please?
UMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Reader Comments (8)
"The Way He Looks" is adapted from the short "Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho" (something like "I don't want to come back alone") from the same directors. It became famous in Brazil after being banned from exibition in schools in some states because of the gay content. It's a shame because it's such a cute story.
You can watch it with subtuitles here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wav5KjBHbI
my english is not very good, I hope the commentary is clear.
"Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho" was amazing. I can't wait to see the 90 minutes version of it.
LOVELY.
Apparently her scenes are killer,uma oprah its 94 again.
Her scene is NYMPHO is amazing! It feels like a Pedro Almodovar moment. And lhe brazilian short movie was magical, can't hardly wait for lhe motion picture.
A good number of reviews have praised Uma, so hopefully something will come of it! I don't expect Nymphomaniac to be embraced by AMPAS, but maybe she will be a BSA dark horse
This reminds me that I still need to get around to seeing PRINCE AVALANCHE, the Best Director winner of last year (which bypassed cinemas here in Australia).
Any word on what were the best reviewed films? (Other than the American entries.)
It's been so difficult to find decent Berlinale coverage this year. (Other than for the English-language films.)
does anyone feel that Uma is taking cue from Nicole Kidman... she picked up a lot of what Nicole left behind... she even used the same hair stylist Nicole is using...