2023 Berlin Film Festival Hosts Top directors, Multicultural Offerings with Docs on Ukraine

February 2023, Berlin Germany: The Berlin International Film festival comes to a close with the weight of the world on the shoulders of the top directors to tell the stories of the issues, famine, hunger, war and disease that is plaguing the globe.

Hollywood actor Kristen Stewart took the role as the head of a jury very seriously, joined by Iranian-French star Golshifteh Farahani and previous Berlinale-winning directors Carla Simón and Radu Jude – a group that sent a signal early on that they were about to make some non-standard award choices.

The jury awarded the Golden Bear top honor to the French documentary “On the Adamant.” Nicolas Philibert’s film which tells the story of a unique mental health treatment facility that uses art as a primary method of care. Stewart said the film expanded the jury’s understanding of what constitutes art.

The Silver Bear for Best Director went to Philippe Garrel for “The Plough,” while the Silver Bear for Best Lead Performance went to child star Sofia Otero for “20,000 Species of Bees.”

Steven Spielberg was in Berlin to accept the honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement.

A highlight of the festival was the showing of ”Golda” a drama about Israeli premier Golda Meir and the Yom Kippur war, with Helen Mirren offering a solid, thoughtful performance with a very emotional subject.

Front and center on the red carpet was Sean Penn with his documentary about Ukraine, “Superpower”, co-directed with Aaron Kaufman, in which a nod to Volodymyr Zelenskiy was overshadowed by the banning of Russian filmmakers who were financed by the Russian government.

While Superpower did not overwhelm the judges, they were pleased with “Eastern Front” from Ukraine, a realistic and eye opening documentary by Vitaly Mansky and Yevhen Titarenko, based substantially on footage, shot on duty with a volunteer medical crew.