The documentary “Dahomey” by French-born director Mati Diop has won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. The jury announced this on Saturday evening in Berlin. The filmmaker with Senegalese roots deals with the return of art treasures stolen from Africa.
In “Dahomey” Diop accompanies 26 statues on their journey from France to their country of origin, today’s Benin. The experimental documentary film captivates with poetic passages – for example, one of the art looted treasures speaks off-screen several times.
German director Matthias Glasner received a Silver Bear for the script of his drama “Die” – the only award in the competition for Germany.
This year the Grand Jury Prize went to South Korea. The jury honored the bizarre chamber play “Yeohaengjaui pilyo” (“A Traveler’s Needs”) by South Korean veteran director Hong Sangsoo with Isabelle Huppert in the lead role. Romanian-American actor Sebastian Stan received a Silver Bear for best performance in a leading role in the tragicomedy “A Different Man.”
The award for best supporting role went to Brit Emily Watson in the Irish-Belgian drama “Small Things Like These”. The science fiction parody “L’Empire” won the jury prize. The Dominican Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias won the Silver Bear for best director for the experimental film “Pepe” about a dead hippopotamus in Colombia.
The Austrian cameraman Martin Gschlacht was honored with a Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic achievement. He received the prize for his work on the morbid historical drama “Des Teufels Bad”.
