CULTURE
Spanish drama 'Alcarras' wins Golden Bear at Berlin film fest
![Spanish drama 'Alcarras' wins Golden Bear at Berlin film fest](/files/2022/1/1200x630/1645090097507349929_1200x630.jpg)
Baku, February 17, AZERTAC
The 72nd Berlin International Film Festival awarded its Golden Bear top prize on Wednesday to Spanish director Carla Simon's semi-autobiographical drama "Alcarras," about a family of peach farmers fighting for their future, according to AFP.
This year's Berlinale was in-person for the first time in two years but held a shorter competition than usual, with strict regulations for audiences just as COVID-19 infections were peaking in Germany.
There were 18 films from 15 countries vying for the Golden Bear, with the jury led by Indian-born American director M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense").
Simon, 35, dedicated the prize to her family, saying that "without them and my closeness to this world I wouldn't have been able to tell this story."
The Berlinale is now the third major European film festival in a row to award its top prize to a female director, following Cannes and Venice last year.
German-Turkish comedian Meltem Kaptan, 41, won the festival's second ever gender-neutral acting prize for her performance in "Rabiye Kurnaz vs George W. Bush".
The film by German director Andreas Dresen tells the true story of a mother's battle to bring her son back from Guantanamo Bay.