There Is No Evil wins Golden Bear

Iranian director banned from leaving homeland takes top award in Berlin

by Amber Wilkinson

There Is No Evil
There Is No Evil Photo: Courtesy of Berlinale/Cosmopol Film
Berlin Film Festival has awarded the Golden Bear to Iranian drama There Is No Evil, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof.

The film - which sets its sights on the death penalty for dissidents through four different stories - was shot in secret by the director, who was unable to attend the festival as he is banned from leaving Iran. He had previously said: "I am sorry that I will not be able to come to Berlin to watch the film alongside the audience; however, the right to choose between being present or absent at the festival is simply not mine. Imposing such restrictions very clearly exposes the intolerant and despotic nature of the Iranian government."

The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize went to Eliza Hittman's low-key US-set drama about abortion Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which had its world premiere at Sundance.

South Korean director Hong Sang-soo was awarded the directing Silver Bear for his equally low-key tale The Woman Who Ran, about a woman visiting friends, whose meeting has undercurrents. Dark comedy Bad Tales - which sees trouble brew for kids in suburbian - saw Italian brothers Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo take home the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay.

The jury, headed by Jeremy Irons, gave the acting awards to Paula Beer, for Christian Petzold's Undine and Elio Germano for Giorgi Diritti's Hidden Away.

The full list of awards is below:

  • Golden Bear for Best Film: There Is No Evil - Mohammad Mohammad Rasoulof 
  • Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: Never Rarely Sometimes Always - Eliza Hittman
  • Silver Bear for Best Director: Hong Sang-soo - The Woman Who Ran
  • Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Damiano D'Innocenzo, Fabio D'Innocenzo - Bad Tales
  • Silver Bear for Best Actress: Paula Beer - Undine
  • Silver Bear for Best Actor: Elio Germano - Hidden Away
  • Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Jürgen Jürges for cinematography on DAU. Natascha
  • The Silver Bear - 70th Berlinale: Delete History - Benoit Delepine, Gustave Kervern
  • Golden Bear for Short Film: T - Keisha Rae Witherspoon
  • Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement: Helen Mirren
  • Best First Feature Award: Naked Animals - Melanie Waelde
  • Berlinale Glashütte Original – Documentary Prize: Irradiated - Rithy Panh  
  • Encounters Best Film: The Works and Days (of Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin) -  C.W. Winter, Anders Edström
  • Encounters Special Jury Award: The Trouble With Being Born - Sandra Wollner
  • Encounters Best Director: Malmkrog - Cristi Puiu; Special Mention: Isabella - Matías Piñeiro
  • Encounters Audience Award for drama: Otac - Srdan Golubovic
  • Encounters Audience Award for documentary: Welcome To Chechnya - David France
  • Generations Crystal Bear: Our Lady Of The Nile - Atiq Rahimi; Special Mention: White Riot
  • Generations Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: Mutts - Halima Ouardiri; Special Mention: Goodbye Golovin - Mathieu Grimard
  • Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Film: My Name Is Baghdad - Caru Alves de Souza; Special Mention: Voices in the Wind - Nobuhiro Suwa
  • Special Prize of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Short Film: Mutts - Halima Ouardiri;
  • Special Mention: White Winged Horse - Mahyar Mandegar
  • Children's Jury Crystal Bear for the Best Film: Sweet Thing - Alexandre Rockwell; Special Mention: H Is for Happiness - John Sheedy
  • Children's Jury Crystal Bear for the Best Short Film: The Name of the Son - Martina Matzkin; Special Mention: Miss - Amira Géhanne Khalfallah
  • Grand Prix of the International Jury in Generation Kplus for the Best Film: The Wolves - Samuel Kishi Leopo; Special Mentions: Cuties - Maïmouna Doucouré and Mum, Mum, Mum - Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière
  • Special Prize of the International Jury in Generation Kplus for the Best Short Film: The Name of the Son - Martina Matzkin; Special Mention: The Kites - Seyed Payam Hosseini
  • FIPRESCI Award in Main Competition: Undine - Christian Petzold
  • FIPRESCI Award in Panorama - Mogul Mowgli - Bassam Tariq
  • FIPRESCI Award in Encounters - The Metamorphosis of Birds - Catarina Vasconcelos
  • FIPRESCI Award in Forum - The Twentieth Century - Matthew Rankin

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