Fuocoammare wins Golden Bear

Italian refugee documentary takes top prize in Berlin

by Jennie Kermode

Fuocoammare
Fuocoammare

Italian documentary Fuocoammare (Fire At Sea) has won the Golden Bear at this year's Berlinale. The film follows the struggle of refugees trying to reach safety on the island of Lampedusa. Director Gianfranco Rosi, who hails from Eritrea like many of the refugees themselves, said his deepest concern was for those who never made it across the sea.

The Silver Bear award went to Mia Hansen-Løve for L'Avenir, which is also showing at the Glasgow Film Festival. The prize for best Actor went to Majd Mastoura for Inhebbek Hedi, a Tunisian tale set in the aftermath of the Arab Spring demonstrations, while Best Actress went to Trine Dyrholm for Thomas Vinterberg's Kollektivet, a drama about life in a 1970s Danish commune.

The winners were selected by the International Jury, headed by Meryl Streep.

Share this with others on...
News

The division belle Suzannah Herbert on facing the US' troubled history and making Natchez

Spin-off alchemy Claude Schmitz on bringing back cop pairing for Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems

Past crime Christoffer Boe on creating a world for his period mystery Special Unit - The First Murder

The hidden river Helen MacDonald and Philippa Lowthorpe on adapting H Is For Hawk

This wild channel David Shadrack Smith and Jake Fogelnest on the content creation revolution and Public Access

Sundance announces winners Josephine, Nuisance Bear, Shame And Money and To Hold A Mountain take top prizes

More news and features

Interact

As we move into 2026, don't forget that you can follow us on YouTube for trailers of festival films and more. You can also find us on Mastodon and Bluesky.

With awards season in full flow, you can keep track of the latest news on that here:

César nominations Nouvelle Vague leads the race for France's biggest awards

BAFTA nominations One Battle After Another and Sinners almost neck and neck

Golden Eddies Nominations for editing brilliance announced

OFCS Awards One Battle After Another triumphs; Sinners dominates