See Winners

BERLIN -- In a surprise win, Jasmila Zbanic's Bosnian tale "Grbavica," about a mother and daughter coming to terms with the shameful legacy of war, won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival Saturday.

Confirming general expectations, Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross took director kudos for "The Road to Guantanamo," a pic that epitomized the fest's long-established political character while offering current and relevant subject matter.

However, Teutonic talent domi-nated this year's Berlinale. At least that's the way the fest jury, headed by Charlotte Rampling, saw it: Moritz Bleibtreu nabbed a Silver Bear for his role as a sexually disturbed teacher in "The Elementary Particles," while Sandra Hueller won for "Requiem," a fact-based story about a troubled woman who undergoes an exorcism after suffering a breakdown.

Jurgen Vogel won a Silver Bear for artistic contribution as co-writer, co-producer and actor in "The Free Will," about a convicted rapist searching for love.

Robert Altman's "A Prairie Home Companion" picked up an audience prize, but U.S. contenders, which also included Sidney Lumet's "Find Me Guilty," failed to pick up any top awards from the jury, which preferred mainly European and, to a lesser extent, world cinema titles.

Danish helmer Pernille Fischer Christensen's "A Soap," about a ro-mance between an emotionally con-fused woman and her troubled trans-sexual neighbor, was honored with both the Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear and the new first feature award.

Jafar Panahi's Iranian pic "Offside," about soccer-crazy girls who disguise themselves as boys in order to watch a soccer match, also picked up a Jury Grand Prix.

Peter Kam received the Silver Bear for music for Hong Kong pic "Isa-bella."

Argentine director Rodrigo Moreno took the Alfred Bauer Prize for innova-tive film for "El Custodio," a pic partially financed by the Berlinale's World Cinema Fund.

In addition to Roberto Benigni, who attended the closing ceremonies, stars at this year's fest included Gael Garcia Bernal, Natalie Portman, Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Vin Diesel, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Isabella Rossellini and Ian McKellen.

With a slick production by ZDF, German-Swiss-Austrian pubcaster 3Sat broadcast this year's show live for the first time in the three territories.

A popular event for the public, the Berlinale sold some 160,000 tickets to moviegoers for the 400 or so films screened at the fest, which wrapped Sunday.

And the winners are…

GOLDEN BEAR
"Grbavica" (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany)

SILVER BEARS
Grand Jury Prize
"A Soap" (Denmark, Sweden)

ACTRESS
Sandra Hueller ("Requiem," Germany)

ACTOR
Moritz Bleibtreu ("The Elementary Particles," Germany)

DIRECTOR
Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross ("The Road to Guantanamo," U.K.)

INDIVIDUAL ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION
Juergen Vogel ("The Free Will," Germany)

FILM MUSIC
Peter Kam ("Isabella," Hong Kong, China)

FIRST FEATURE FILM
"A Soap" (Denmark, Sweden)

ALFRED BAUER PRIZE
"El Custodio" (Argentina, Germany, France)

TEDDY
"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" (Philippines, feature)
"Beyond Hatred" France, documentary)
"The Day I Died" (Argentina, U.S., short)

PEACE FILM PRIZE
"Grbavica" (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany)

SHORTS
"Never Like the First Time" (Sweden, Golden Bear)
"Penpusher" (France, Silver Bear)
"Our Man in Nirvana" (Germany, Silver Bear)
"The Day I Died" (Argentina, U.S., Special Mention)
"Your Dark Hair Ihsan," (U.S., Panorama Short Film Award)
"Love This Time," (Australia, Panorama Special Mention)

PRIX UIP BERLIN
"The Fence" (Spain)

DAAD SHORT FILM AWARD
"Swanettes" (Israel)

KINDERFILMFEST CRYSTAL BEARS
"We Shall Overcome" (Denmark, U.K., Crystal Bear)
"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" (Philippines, Special Mention)
"Never an Absolution" (Sweden, U.S., short, Crystal Bear)
"The Thief" (Greece, short, Special Mention)

14plus CRYSTAL BEARS
"Four Weeks in June" (Sweden, Crystal Bear)
"Kamataki" (Canada, Japan, Special Mention)

KINDERFILMFEST INTL. JURY PRIZES
"The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" (Philippines, Grand Prix)
"I Am" (Poland, Special Mention)
"A Fish With a Smile" (Taiwan, short, Special Prize)
"Vika" (Israel, short, Special Mention)

ECUMENICAL JURY PRIZE
"Grbavica" (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Competition)
"The Collector" (Poland, Panorama)
"Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon" (South Africa, Forum)

FIPRESCI (INT'L. CRITICS ASSN.) PRIZES
"Requiem" (Germany, Competition)
"Tough Enough" (Germany, Panorama)
"In Between Days" (U.S., Canada, Forum)

MANFRED SALZGEBER PRIZE
"Paper Dolls" (Israel, Switzerland)

PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD
"Paper Dolls" (Israel, Switzerland)
"The Substitute" (Israel, short)

GUILD OF GERMAN ART HOUSE CINEMAS PRIZE
"The Free Will," (Germany)

CICAE (Intl. Confederation of Arthouse Cinema) PRIZES
"Little Red Flowers" (China, Italy, Panorama)
"Close to Home" (Israel, Forum)

LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS PRIZES
"Tough Enough" (Germany)

PRIZE DIALOGUE EN PERSPECTIVE
"Running on Empty" Buelent Akinci
"Wholetrain," Florian Gaag (Special Mention)

WOLFGANG STAUDTE AWARD
"Babooska" (Austria, Italy)

CALIGARI FILM PRIZE
"37 Uses for a Dead Sheep" (U.K., Turkey)

NETPAC PRIZE
"Dear Pyongyang" (Japan)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE
"Narcissus Blossom" (Iraq, France)

BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS' PRIZE
"A Prairie Home Companion" (U.S.)

SIEGESSÄULE READERS' PRIZE
"Paper Dolls" (Israel, Switzerland)

FEMINA FILM PRIZE
Yasmni Khalifa, Carola Gauster (Set Design, "Bye Bye Berlusconi")