Written by Tom Deehan on Feb 20, 2017. Posted in Awards and Festivals / General Interest

Ildikó Enyedi awarded with the Golden Bear for Best Film at Berlinale 2017

Hungarian Director, Ildikó Enyedi has come away from the Berlin Film Festival with the highly coveted Golden Bear. Enyedi’s offbeat romantic comedy, Testről és lélekről, was declared Best Film of the event by an international jury, headed by Director Paul Verhoeven.

Shot entirely within Hungary, Testről és lélekről received an investment from the national film fund, designed to incite growth in the country’s domestic production industry. Hungary also offers a 25% tax rebate to international productions, with no cap on the amount that can be claimed.

The Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Alain Gomis’s, Félicité, which tells the story of a bar-singer who seeks out the help of a stranger when her son is hospitalised following a motorcycle accident.

Opting against the use of a double, Félicité is notable for having been filmed in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country is rarely visited by international productions due to its political instability, so Gomis hired local Location Manager, Roger Kangudia, to help navigate the project through the area.

Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik also received the Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize for their crime-drama, Pokot. Produced by Studio Filmowe Tor, Pokot was shot in Dolnoslaskie in southwest Poland.

10 independent film funds are currently in operation throughout Poland but the country is expected to implement a nationwide 25% cash rebate by the end of the year. In its introductory year, the incentive will have a fund of roughly EUR22 million.

Full list of winners:

Golden Bear for Best Film

Testről és lélekről
(On Body and Soul)
by Ildikó Enyedi
Producers: Monika Mécs, András Muhi, Ernő Mesterházy

 

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize

Félicité
by Alain Gomis

 

Silver Bear Alfred Bauer Prize

Agnieszka Holland, Kasia Adamik

Pokot (Spoor)
by Agnieszka Holland in cooperation with Kasia Adamik

 

Silver Bear for Best Director

Aki Kaurismäki
for Toivon tuolla puolen
(The Other Side of Hope)

 

Silver Bear for Best Actress

Kim Minhee
in Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja
(On the Beach at Night Alone)
by Hong Sangsoo

 

Silver Bear for Best Actor

Georg Friedrich
in Helle Nächte
(Bright Nights)
by Thomas Arslan

 

Silver Bear for Best Screenplay

Sebastián Lelio and Gonzalo Maza
for Una mujer fantástica
(A Fantastic Woman)
by Sebastián Lelio

 

Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution

Dana Bunescu
for the editing in
Ana, mon amour
by Călin Peter Netzer