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BERLINALE 2018 Competition / Awards

Adina Pintilie’s Touch Me Not gets gold at Berlin

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- BERLIN 2018: The bravery and experimental approach of the Romanian debutant have won over Tom Tykwer’s jury, which handed out its Grand Jury Prize to Malgorzata Szumowska’s Mug

Adina Pintilie’s Touch Me Not gets gold at Berlin
Adina Pintilie with her Golden Bear for Touch Me Not

Romania’s Adina Pintilie came up on stage twice at the Berlinale Palast this evening to collect awards for her feature debut, Touch Me Not [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adina Pintilie
film profile
]
. Even before the first Bears of the 68th Berlinale were given out, the jury comprising Jonas CarpignanoCălin Peter Netzer and Noa Regev rewarded her with the GWFF Award for Best First Feature (which comes with €50,000), and then at the end of the evening, the climax of the ceremony, they handed her the most sought-after trophy, the Golden Bear. Interestingly, this is the second time in a row that an Eastern European female director has been crowned at Berlin for a movie about contact between bodies and between beings (after On Body and Soul [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Ildiko Enyedi
interview: Réka Tenki
film profile
]
by Hungary’s Ildiko Enyedi emerged victorious last year).

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Pintilie’s film, which blends reality and fiction, and in which the camera plunges headfirst into each shot, impressed Tom Tykwer’s jury thanks to its risk-taking, as it combines a novel experimental approach with a subject that is uncomfortable on account of its sheer intimacy. Pintilie, who was clearly not expecting to win, stressed that it was important for her to invite the world to continue the dialogue that the film has prompted, and she praised the courage of the actors who took part in this "labour of love".

The Grand Jury Prize was bestowed upon Poland’s Malgorzata Szumowska for the excellent Mug [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Małgorzata Szumowska
film profile
]
, in which she stated that she wanted to reflect the problems of her own country, as well as Europe and indeed the whole world. "Totally happy" about this new prize at Berlin (given that she won two parallel prizes there in 2013, including the Teddy for Best Film with In the Name of [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz
film profile
]
, as well as the Silver Bear for Best Director with Body [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
interview: Malgorzata Szumowska
film profile
]
 in 2015), she particularly thanked Michal Englert, her co-screenwriter and DoP on the three films that she has presented in competition.

Young French actor Anthony Bajon took home the award in his category for The Prayer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cédric Kahn
film profile
]
by Cédric Kahn. As for the actresses, Ana Brun walked away with a Silver Bear for her turn in The Heiresses [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which also snagged the Silver Bear – Alfred Bauer Prize for a film that opens up new perspectives. The Paraguayan director of the film, Marcelo Martinessi, thanked his European co-producers when receiving his prize.

Europe was also represented by Dovlatov [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milan Maric
film profile
]
by Russia’s Alexei German Jr, which won the Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution for its production design and costumes, as well as the opening film, Isle of Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which earned Wes Anderson the Best Director Award. The Silver Bear for Best Script went to the Mexican film Museum by Alonso Ruizpalacios.

Here is the complete list of winners:

Golden Bear for Best Film
Touch Me Not [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Adina Pintilie
film profile
]
 - Adina Pintilie (Romania/Germany/Czech Republic/Bulgaria/France)

Silver Bear – Grand Jury Prize
Mug [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Małgorzata Szumowska
film profile
]
 - Malgorzata Szumowska (Poland)

Silver Bear – Alfred Bauer Prize
The Heiresses [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 - Marcelo Martinessi (Paraguay/Germany/Brazil/Uruguay/Norway)

Silver Bear for Best Director
Wes Anderson - Isle of Dogs [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 (USA/Germany)

Silver Bear for Best Actress
Ana Brun - The Heiresses

Silver Bear for Best Actor
Anthony Bajon - The Prayer [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cédric Kahn
film profile
]
 (France)

Silver Bear for Best Script
Manuel Alcalá, Alonso Ruizpalacios - Museum (Mexico)

Silver Bear for Best Artistic Contribution
Elena Okopnaya for the Costume and Production Design in Dovlatov [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Milan Maric
film profile
]
(Russia/Poland/Serbia)

Best Documentary Award
The Waldheim Waltz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ruth Beckermann
film profile
]
 - Ruth Beckermann (Austria)
Special Mention
Ex Shaman - Luiz Bolognesi (Brazil)

Best First Feature Award
Touch Me Not - Adina Pintilie
Special Mention
An Elephant Sitting Still - Hu Bo (China)

Golden Bear for Best Short Film
The Men Behind the Wall - Ines Moldavsky (Israel)

Silver Bear - Jury Prize for Short Film
Imfura - Samuel Ishimwe (Switzerland/Rwanda)

Audi Short Film Award
Solar Walk - Réka Bucsi (Denmark)

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