U.S. pix nixed by Berlin jury
Chereau's 'Intimacy' picks up 3 prizes
| See the full winner's list |
Instead, French director Patrice Chereau's English-lingo debut "Intimacy" scooped three prizes from the competition jury and two Taiwanese-produced films picked up a total of four awards, reflecting the heavy slant toward Asian and European subject matter in executive director Moritz de Hadeln's farewell festival.
"You can't imagine how wonderful and beautiful this is for me," Chereau told auds at the closing ceremony. "I bought a fortune cookie in a Japanese restaurant last Wednesday, and it said 'you will have a new experience that will stay with you.' I think this is an experience that I will never forget."
Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic," widely expected to walk away with top nod the Golden Bear, took only the best actor prize for Benicio Del Toro, which exec producer Andreas Klein was on hand to receive. Other U.S. fare -- Miramax's "Malena" and "Chocolat," New Line's "Bamboozled" and Col's "Finding Forrester" and "The Tailor of Panama" -- failed to excite the attention of the nine-member jury headed by former Fox Filmed Entertainment honcho Bill Mechanic.
Only Mike Nichols' HBO movie "Wit" picked up a small award, a Special Prize from the Ecumenical Jury.
Heading back to the U.S. on Monday, Mechanic told Daily Variety that the jury had been quick to reach a decision on the top prizes. "It is interesting to know that all choices were made unanimously," he told auds Sunday night.
Chereau's pic walked away with the Golden Bear, as well as the actress nod for Kerry Fox and the Blue Angel Award for European film. Although the choice of "Intimacy" for the top accolade was generally regarded as a surprise, the decision fell during a banner year for French cinema at the fest, apart from the disappointing "Felix and Lola" and Catherine Breillat's "Fat Girl" -- the latter seemingly provoking love and hate in equal portions.
Fox's best actress nod was a controversial choice. Award was widely expected to go to Emma Thompson for her heartfelt rendition of a woman dying of ovarian cancer in "Wit."
Chinese fortune
Underlying Berlin's long tradition of championing Asian fare, mainland Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai's "Beijing Bicycle" took the Grand Jury Prize. Both of its leading actors also took the Piper Heidsieck New Talent award. The other Chinese-language film in competition, Taiwanese helmer Lin Cheng-sheng's "Betlenut Beauty," walked off with director kudos as well as the Piper Heidsieck New Talent Award for lead actress Angelica Lee Sinje.
Fest's bestselling and most-buzzed about competish title, Lone Scherfig's Dogma pic "Italian for Beginners," took the Jury Prize. Both "Italian" and "Beijing Bicycle" were picked up for U.S. distribution, the former by Miramax, the latter by Sony Pictures Classics.
"I would like to thank you for helping films cross borders and for helping films and audiences to find one another," Scherfig said upon receiving her award.
Argentinean director Lucrecia Martel's well-regarded "The Swamp" was awarded the Alfred Bauer Prize for best first film. Spanish d.p. Raul Perez Cubero's award for competition entry "You're the One," stunningly lensed in B&W and widescreen, was widely supported.
Obviously enjoying his last fest after 22 years at the helm, De Hadeln was awarded a special Teddy, voted by a jury of gay and lesbian fest heads, for his continuous endorsement of gay and lesbian films and their makers.
Saying goodbye onstage Sunday night, De Hadeln wished incoming fest director Dieter Kosslick "luck, courage and sensitivity" in discovering new talent and facing criticism when it comes.
The Teddys for best feature film and documentary went to U.S. indies "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and "Trembling Before G-d," respectively. "Berlin Is in Germany," about an East German prisoner released into a reunified Germany, took the Panorama audience prize.
Kosslick kept a deliberately low profile throughout the 12-day event. Taking the reins May 1, he inherits a festival that now runs smoothly in its new digs at Potsdamer Platz and has replaced its old Cold War mantle with a more easygoing, cosmopolitan flavor, like the city itself.
Traditional roots
More than any other major international fest, however, the Berlinale still remains anchored to its city and its complex political roots, for better and for worse. On the plus side, it remains an astoundingly liberal event, embracing experimental and, especially, gay cinema; on the other hand, the fest continues to be heavily criticized, especially by locals, for offering itself as a launchpad for U.S. cinema into Europe -- a legacy of its original rationale as a Western cultural beachhead in the Eastern Bloc.
As well as losing De Hadeln, fest is also saying goodbye to Forum boss Ulrich Gregor after 31 years. But next year's transition is expected to be smooth, as many key staff are staying on in all sections.
COMPETITION JURY AWARDS
GOLDEN BEAR
"Intimacy" (France-Italy)
SILVER BEARS
Grand Jury Prize
"Beijing Bicycle" (Taiwan-France)
Jury Prize
"Italian for Beginners" (Denmark)
Best Actress
Kerry Fox ("Intimacy")
Best Actor
Benicio Del Toro ("Traffic," U.S.)
Best Director
Lin Cheng-sheng ("Betelnut Beauty," Taiwan-France)
Individual Contribution
d.p. Raul Perez Cubero ("You're the One," Spain)
Alfred Bauer Prize
"The Swamp" (Argentina)
Blue Angel Award
Patrice Chereau ("Intimacy")
Piper Heidsieck New Talent Awards
Angelica Lee Sinje (best young actress, "Betelnut Beauty")
Cui Lin, Li Bin (best young actors, "Beijing Bicycle")
Best Shorts
"Black Soul" (Canada, Golden Bear)
"Jungle Jazz: Public Enemy #1" (U.S., Silver Bear)
MAIN AWARDS BY OTHER JURIES
Ecumenical Jury Prizes
"Italian for Beginners" (Competition, main prize)
"Wit" (U.S., Competition, special prize)
"Blue End" (Switzerland, Panorama)
"The New Land" (Sweden, Forum)
Fipresci (intl. critics assn.) Prizes
"Italian for Beginners" (Competition)
"Maelstrom" (Canada, Panorama)
"It Should Have Been Nice After That" (Germany, Forum)
Guild of German Art House Cinemas Prize
"Finding Forrester" (U.S.)
Berliner Morgenpost Readers' Prize
"Italian for Beginners"
CICAE (intl. confederation of arthouse cinemas) Prizes
"Late Night Shopping" (U.K., Panorama)
"Love/Juice" (Japan, Forum)
Prix UIP Berlin
"To See a Boat at Sail" (Norway, short)
LVT/Manfred Salzgeber Prize
"Fat Girl" (France)
New York Film Academy Award
"The Shooting Gallery" (Ukraine, short)
Panorama Audience Prize
"Berlin Is in Germany" (Germany)
Kinderfilmfest Intl. Jury Prizes
"Nagisa" (Japan, grand prize)
"The Sky Is Falling" (Italy, special mention)
Peace Film Prize
"Living Afterwards: Words of Women" (France)
Teddys 2001
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" (U.S., best feature)
"Trembling Before G-d" (U.S., best docu)
"Ere Mela Mela" (France-Luxembourg, best short)
"Forbidden Fruit" (Germany, jury prize)
"Chop Suey" (U.S., special mention)
"The Iron Ladies" (Thailand, special mention)
Moritz de Hadeln (special Teddy)
Wolfgang Staudte Award
"Love/Juice"
Caligari Film Prize
"A Breakfast Chronicle" (Mexico)
NETPAC Prize
"Smell of Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine" (Iran)
Don Quixote (intl. federation of film societies) Prize
"Karunam" (India)
Berliner Zeitung Readers' Prize
"Werckmeister Harmonies" (Hungary)
