Berlin (dpa) – The 71st Berlin Film Festival is drawing to an end with a close race between the 15 movies vying for the Berlinale’s prestigious awards, including the Golden Bear for best picture.
A six-member jury comprising past Golden Bear winners is set to announce the festival’s awards on Friday, with several films seen as frontrunners for the Berlinale’s coveted prizes.
This includes German director Maria Speth’s inspiring documentary about a multi-cultural classroom in “Mr Bachmann and His Class” and award-winning South Korean director Hong Sangsoo’s “Introduction,” which follows a young man’s voyage of self-discovery.
Behtash Sanaeehaand and Maryam Moghaddam’s Iranian death penalty drama “Ballad of a White Cow” was also among the films that won critical acclaim at the five-day online festival.
France’s Celine Sciamma’s story of a young girl taking the first steps into adult life in “Petite Maman,” and the romantic fantasy “What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?” from Georgian filmmaker Alexandre Koberidze were also popular with festival critics.
Normally held in February, the Berlinale was forced to seek out alternatives as a result of a surge in coronavirus cases. The same was true of other major film festivals.
This year’s Berlinale films were screened as part of a so-called industry event, which was mainly directed at film industry professionals.
The Berlinale’s prizes are to be handed out at an award ceremony at what the festival calls its summer special in June, which is to be open to a wider public.
