Will Estibaliz Urresola’s first film ‘20,000 Bee Species’ win the competition? golden bear? Does Spanish cinema have a chance to win again at the Berlinale just a year later? Databases are skeptical about this: throughout the history of the contest, Only seven filmmakers born within our borders have won this prestigious award. -and notice, the three of them shared ‘ex aequo’ in 1978 – and when Carla Simón got it last year thanks to ‘Alcarràs’ it was almost forty years since her closest predecessor did. There have also been only seven award-winning films directed by women since 1951. and even fewer first jobs. Finally, the figurine went to two consecutive feature films from the same nation no more than three times.
To neutralize the numbers, in addition to the clichés – “stats must be broken” – we have less stereotypical arguments: Urresola’s film received frankly positive reviews from the international press.and the type of relevant and burning issue that can build consensus among jurors – the familial and social misunderstanding experienced by a girl suffering from gender dysphoria. Will Simon being among them be an advantage or a disadvantage for the film’s chances of victory? It’s hard to say.
Of course, to speculate that ‘20,000 species of bees’ could be on the winners list, it is necessary to consider other promising films. And the truth isThe three who show the most value to win the Golden Bear aren’t easy to agree with the judges. A delightful love story directed by Korean-Canadian Celine Song, ‘Past Lives’ came to this festival surrounded by outstanding critics and was determined to be a contender to be beaten after passing the Sundance Festival and could be against if the jury did. not wanting to give the impression of taking it easy; Dazzling ‘anime’ ‘Suzume’ by Makoto Shinkai, released massive box office figures after opening in Japan three months ago, and the Golden Bear winner will be a production that needs more of an award to get it commercially released; An ideal choice would be German Christian Petzold’s new work ‘Afire’, because It’s a great movie and because the director deserves recognition in this caliber for years. But it’s a comedyand it’s a genre traditionally overlooked by any festival, not just the Berlinale.
for public health
As for the last three films submitted in this year’s competition, the choices for placement on the winners list are mixed. Chinese director Liu Jian’s second feature-length animated feature ‘Art College 1994’ has been hard to find a place to fit into the winners list from the very beginning, because the back-and-forth talk about the art on which it was built is not only tiring but, worse, painful. superficial and naive.
Anyway, there’s so much raw “Till the Night” is authentic nonsense directed by German Christoph Hochhäusler; It’s also a chronicle of criminal intrigues for ‘dummies’, a portrait of a trans woman’s mischief and a prisoner’s love affair between this woman and a gay police officer who is transphobic as well as abusive. as an involuntary comedy in any of these three directions.
Instead, finally A reward for ‘Sur l’adamant’ is not only denied, it is probable.. Its director is Nicolas Philibert, a French documentary filmmaker who became an auteur cinema phenomenon a few years ago thanks to ‘Being and Having’ (2002), a window into the life of a provincial elementary school class. of course – and in his new job, he boards a ship moored in the River Seine that has been converted into a health center for the mentally ill. From this point of view, the film works as a heartfelt homage to a kind of character that cinema usually does not pay attention to, and as a convincing statement of the value of public health. Will the jury agree? We are very close to learning.