AWARDS

Berlinale 2022 Awards: 'Alcarràs' from Catalonia Wins Golden Bear

by Alex Billington
February 16, 2022

The 72nd Berlin Film Festival (also known as Berlinale locally) has started wrapping up after a week, and the winners of the festival awards were revealed on Wednesday at an small event in Berlin, including the winner of the coveted Golden Bear (Goldener Bär) for Best Film. That top prize from this year was given to a Catalonian drama about a family of peach farmers titled Alcarràs, directed by Carla Simón. The fest returned to a full-on, in-person event in 2022, after shifting temporarily online last year (plus a summer series). And unfortunately it's a rather rotten year. The festival didn't have many good films at all to feature, nothing but mediocre premieres. While I'm happy about Alcarràs, it is one of the best films in a very weak competition line-up. This fest seems to have missed all the other good ones. Full list of 2022 winners below.

Here are the top awards at the 72nd Berlin Film Festival. For the full list including shorts visit Berlinale.de.

Golden Bear for Best Film
Alcarràs, directed by Carla Simón

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize
The Novelist's Film, directed by Hong Sang-soo

Silver Bear Jury Prize
Robe of Gems (Manto de Gemas), directed by Natalia López Gallardo

Silver Bear for Best Director
Claire Denis for directing Both Sides of the Blade (Avec amour et acharnement)

Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance
Meltem Kaptan in Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush, directed by Andreas Dresen

Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance
Laura Basuki in Nana, directed by Kamila Andini

Silver Bear for Best Screenplay
Andreas Dresen for Rabiye Kurnaz vs. George W. Bush

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution
Everything Will Be Ok, made by Rithy Panh and Sarit Mang

Jury Special Mention
A Piece of Sky (Drii Winter), directed by Michael Koch

The international jury at the 72nd Berlin Festival included M. Night Shyamalan (as president), with Karim Aïnouz, Saïd Ben Saïd, Anne Zohra Berrached, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, as well as Connie Nielsen. Congratulations to all of the winners! Sadly, it is a very forgettable year at Berlinale. I have been covering this festival for nine years, and this is one of the worst selection of films I have ever seen. Most of these will be forgotten and most will not find that big of an audience. I am glad that Alcarràs won, because it's one of the only films to leave a lasting impact on me. Everything else I saw during this fest was either miserable or painfully mediocre. The best films they screened already premiered at Sundance (Klondike and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande). I don't know what exactly went wrong, but the fest needs a serious rethink after this disastrous year. Get those Locarno directors out! Bring in some people who actually know how to pick good films. That's pretty much all I have to say about this year's Berlinale. Onward to the next festival.

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