The Berlin Film Festival ended on Sunday 21 February. At the awards ceremony, which took place on Saturday 20 February, a documentary won the Golden Bear, a first in the 66 years since the festival began. France was high up on the awards list, with three major prizes.
The 2016 Berlinale was a fine edition for French cinema, with a critical and public reception on par with the expectations raised by the presence in Competition of the latest films by André Téchiné (Being Seventeen) and Mia Hansen-Løve (Things to Come), a CG Cinéma production.
Mia Hansen-Løve, a thirty-five-year-old filmmaker, received the Silver Bear for Best Director.
The two main prizes were awarded to French coproductions: Fire at Sea by Gianfranco Rosi, coproduced for France by Les Films d'Ici, received the Golden Bear for Best Film, the first documentary (dedicated to the living conditions of migrants on the island of Lampedusa) to receive this prize; and Death in Sarajevo by Danis Tanovic (photo), 80% produced by France via Margo Cinéma, carried off the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize.
Last but not least, the Audience Prize of the Teddy Award went to Paris 05:59 by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, produced by Ecce Films.
All the awards for French cinema, across all sections:
- Golden Bear for Best Film: Fire at Sea by Gianfranco Rosi
- Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: Death in Sarajevo by Danis Tanovic
- Silver Bear for Best Director: Mia Hansen-Løve for Things to Come
- Teddy Award - Audience Prize: Paris 05:59 by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau
- Generation Section Special Mention: Miss Impossible by Émilie Deleuze
- FIPRESCI (International Critics) Prize: Death in Sarajevo by Danis Tanovic
- Europa Cinema Label Award : The First the Last, by Bouli Lanners
- Prix Oecuménique : The First the Last, by Bouli Lanners
All the awards can be found here.
