Berlin film festival: Fire at Sea wins Golden Bear

“Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi’s Italian documentary about the refugee crisis on the island of Lampedusa, won the 66th Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear for Best Film on Saturday.

The pic’s win came as no surprise. From the start of this year’s fest, taking place amidst the gravest refugee crisis facing Europe in modern history, the theme of displaced people, forced from their homes due to war, violence and economic necessity, has deeply defined the event.

“Fire at Sea” looks at the harrowing journeys undertaken by immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and Asia as they risk their lives to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa in the hopes of making it to mainland Europe.


A list of winners follows:

Golden Bear for Best Film

“Fire At Sea”
Italy/France
Dir: Gianfranco Rosi

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

“Death in Sarajevo”
France/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dir: Danis Tanović

Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for a feature film that opens new perspectives

“A Lullaby To The Sorrowful Mystery”
Philippines/Singapore
Dir: Lav Diaz

Silver Bear for Best Director

Mia Hansen-Love, “Things To Come” (France/Germany)

Silver Bear for Best Actress

Trine Dyrholm, “The Commune” (Denmark/Sweden/Netherlands)

Silver Bear for Best Actor

Majd Mastoura, “Inhebbek Hedi” (Tunisia/Belgium/France)

Silver Bear for Best Script

Tomasz Wasilewski, “United States Of Love” (Poland)

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution

Mark Lee Ping-Bing, Cinematographer, “Crosscurrent” (China)

Best First Feature

“Inhebbek Hedi”
Tunisia/Belgium/France
Dir: Mohamed Ben Attia

Golden Bear for Best Short Film

“Balada De Um Batráquio”
Portugal
Dir: Leonor Teles

Silver Bear Jury Prize (Short Film)

“A Man Returned”
UK/Denmark/Netherlands
Dir: Mahdi Fleifel

Audi Short Film Award

“Jin Zhi Xia Mao”
Taiwan
Dir: Chiang Wei Liang