The independent juries of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival early Saturday unveiled their picks of the best movies at the 2024 Berlinale.
Matthias Glasner’s German family epic Sterben (Dying), and the Iranian feature My Favourite Cake from directors Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, both of which are considered frontrunners for the top prize at the official festival ceremony on Saturday night, received multiple awards for the indie juries, as did Dag Johan Haugerud’s Norwegian drama Sex, a critical favorite from this year’s Panorama sidebar.
Sterben, which follows a classical conductor (played by Lars Eidinger) and his very dysfunctional family, won the best film honor from the gilde of German arthouse cinemas and the top prize awarded by the jury of Berliner Morgenpost readers representing the Berlin newspaper.
My Favourite Cake, a quiet drama about a 70-year-old widow who takes a chance on new love, won the Fipresci prize handed out by international film critics, as well as the top prize from the ecumenical jury for a title in the Berlinale competition.
Sex, the first in an ambitious Sex Dreams Love trilogy by Haugerud, follows a pair of ostensibly heterosexual chimney sweeps in modern-day Oslo who begin to question the strict definitions of gender and sexuality they have grown up with. It won the Europa Cinema Labels award for best European film at the Berlinale, as well as the CICAE Art Cinema prize for best film in Panorama, and the ecumenical jury honor for best Panorama title.
PRIZES OF THE INDEPENDENT JURIES
Prizes of the Ecumenical Jury
Competition
My Favourite Cake, dirs. Maryam Moghaddam, Behtash Sanaeeha
Panorama
Sex, dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
Forum
Maria‘s Silence, dir. Dāvis Sīmanis
Special Mention
Intercepted, dir. Oksana Karpovych
Prizes of the Fipresci Jury
Competition
My Favourite Cake, dirs. Maryam Moghaddam, Behtash Sanaeeha
Encounters
Sleep with Your Eyes Open, dir. Nele Wohlatz
Panorama
Faruk, dir. Aslı Özge
Forum
The Human Hibernation, dir. Anna Cornudella Castro
Teddy Awards
Best Feature Film
All Shall Be Well, dir. Ray Yeung
Best Documentary/Essay Film
Teaches of Peaches, dirs. Philipp Fussenegger, Judy Landkammer
Best Short Film
Grandmamauntsistercat, dir. Zuza Banasińska
Jury Award
Crossing, dir. Levan Akin
Special Teddy Award for Lothar Lambert
CICAE Art Cinema Award
Panorama
Sex, dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
Forum
Shahid, dir. Narges Kalhor
Prize of the Guild of German Arthouse Cinemas
Sterben (Dying), dir. Matthias Glasner
Europa Cinemas Label Award
Sex, dir. Dag Johan Haugerud
Caligari Film Prize
Shahid, dir. Narges Kalhor
Peace Film Prize
Favoriten, dir Ruth Beckermann
Amnesty International Film Award
The Strangers’ Case, dir. Brandt Andersen
Heiner Carow Prize
Ivo, dir. Eva Trobisch
Prize of the AG-Kino-Gilde-Cinema
Last Swim, dir. Sasha Nathwani
Special Mention
Disco Afrika: A Malagasy Story, dir. Luck Razanajaona
Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award
Sterben (Dying), dir. Matthias Glasner
Tagesspiegel Readers’ Jury Award
Une famille (A Family), dir. Christine Angot
Development Awards Kompagnon-Fellowship
The Shore, dir. Vladimir Beck
Traversée, dir. Tizian Stromp Zargari
Arte Kino International Award
Ich bin Marika, dir. Hajni Kis,
Euroimages Co-Production Development Award
Screaming Girl, dir. Antonio Lukich
VFF Talent Highlight Award
Silence Sometimes, dir. Álvaro Robles
Honorable Mentions
Astana Internet Stars, dir.Assel Aushakimova
More Than A Hug, dir. Liselotte Persson
Talents Footprints – Mastercard Enablement Program
Radioxity Stop Motion Animation Academy, dir. Esther Kemi Gbadamosi
Return to the Source: Film Workshop & Residency Programme, dir. Perivi John Katjavivi
Alumni projects
UnderCurrent, dir. Shuchi Talati
Sunshine Cinema, dir. Sydelle Willow Smith
