independent juries prizes during the Berlinale

A jury is considered independent when its members are not selected by the Berlinale. A number of independent juries award prizes at the Berlinale. The high level of quality and diversity of the films are an invitation for critical examination and discerning judgment that opens up new directions. Accordingly the independent juries award their prizes along different criteria, in accordance to the special intention linked to each award.

The following prizes are awarded by independent juries during the Berlinale:


Prizes of the Ecumenical Jury
Since 1992, the international film organisations of the Protestant and Catholic Churches - INTERFILM and SIGNIS - have been represented by the Ecumenical Jury. It consists of six members and awards its main prize to a film entered in the Competition. It also awards two other prizes, both worth 2,500 Euros, one to a film from the Panorama and one to a film in the Forum. The prizes go to directors who have succeeded in portraying actions or human experiences that are in keeping with the Gospels, or in sensitising viewers to spiritual, human or social values. The jury members for the Berlinale 2008: Julia Helmke (jury president), Alina Birzache, Douglas P. Fahleson, Wolfgang Hussmann, Milan Šimacek, Magali Van Reeth.

The prize for a film from the Competition goes to

Il y a longtemps que je t’aime…
I’ve Loved You So Long…
by Philippe Claudel


Special Mention

Zuo You
In Love We Trust
by Wang Xiaoshuai


The prize for a film from the Panorama goes to

Boy A
by John Crowley


The prize for a film from the Forum goes to

Corridor #8
by Boris Despodov


Prizes of the FIPRESCI Juries
The juries of the Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique (FIPRESCI), the international film critics association, view films from the Competition programme and the Panorama and Forum sections. They award a prize for the best film in each of these sections. The three FIPRESCI juries at the Berlinale 2008 are as follows: Par Haddal (jury president), Jurica Pavicic, Barbara Hollender (Competition); Göran Bjelkendal, Hassouna Mansouri, Thomas Abeltshauser (Panorama); Elfriede Schmitt, Pablo Utin, Gulnara Abikejeva (Forum)

Competition
Lake Tahoe
by Fernando Eimbcke

Panorama
Rusalka (Mermaid)
by Anna Melikian

Forum
Shahida – Brides of Allah (Brides of Allah)
von Natalie Assouline


Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas
The jury of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas is composed of three members who run cinemas and are members of the Guild. The jury awards its prize to a film screened in the Competition. The jury members for the Berlinale 2008: Adrian Kutter, Hans-Werner Renneke, Rudolf Huber.

The members of the jury award the Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas to

Restless
by Amos Kollek


C.I.C.A.E Prizes
The Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai (C.I.C.A.E.), the International Confederation of Art House Cinemas, forms one jury for the Panorama and one for the Forum. Each jury awards one prize in its section. Jury members 2008: Steffen Heinke, Francois Aymé, Tibor Biro (Panorama), Thorsten Kleinschmidt, Marta Krutel, Nikos Grigoriadis (Forum).

The juries award the following prizes:

Panorama
Revanche
by Götz Spielmann
The Panorama-Jury gives the Art-Cinéma-Award 2008 to Austrian director Götz Spielmanns Revanche, a very thoroughfully written and directed film about the struggle for a better, for a civil life. The director chooses the form of a calm and quiet drama to tell a very universal, emotional story about the loss of dreams, about moral values, love and forgiveness. What makes Revanche so much different of linear dramas or simple-crime-movies are it‘s very subtle interpreted, multi-dimensional characters and the writer-director is supported here by magnificent actors who are responsible for the films incredible richness.

Forum
United Red Army
by Wakamatsu Koji
United Red Army is both an interesting and strong impressive movie. The film allows all audiences to have a very deep cinematographic experience. Following the destiny of young radical people from about 40 years ago is an experience that also young people from today will like. It is a movie which length is no weakness but makes it even stronger. The subject is an interesting starting point for discussions.


"Label Europa Cinemas"
Launched for the first time in 2003 within the Cannes Film Festival, the Europa Cinemas Label has been created in order to help European films increase their distribution and raise their profile with audiences and media. The Label is since then awarded by a jury of 5 member exhibitors to a European film selected in the Directors' Fortnight section in Cannes and since 2004 in the Venice Days. Since 2005, Europa Cinemas has been cooperating with the Berlinale to award the Label in the Panorama section. The jury at the Berlinale 2008: Robert Kenny, Barbara Suhren, Marko Röhr, Wolfgang Steininger.

The jury awards:

Revanche
by Götz Spielmann


Manfred Salzgeber Prize
The prize is dedicated to Manfred Salzgeber, the former Panorama director, who helped shape the Berlinale profile. A jury of three chooses a film "that broadens the boundaries of cinema today" from amongst the entries to the Panorama programme. Only films that have not yet been distributed in more than one European country are eligible. The non-cash, subtitling prize is endowed with the translation, film print lasering and creation of a digital source master. It is donated by Holland Subtitling, Babelfisch Translations and Digital Cinema Services. The jury members for the Berlinale 2008: Bee Thiam, Mirsad Purivatra, Susanne Pfeffer.

The jury awards the Manfred Salzgeber Prize to

Megane
Megane (Glasses)
by Naoko Ogigami


Special Mention

Improvvisamente l’inverno scorso
Suddenly, Last Winter
by Gustav Hofer, Luca Ragazzi


Teddy Awards
The Teddy Awards go to films that have a gay and/or lesbian context. The nine members of this international jury - for the most part, organizers of gay and lesbian film festivals - view films screened in all sections of the Festival. Chosen from a list of films selected by the jury, a 3,000-Euro Teddy is awarded to a feature film, a short film and a documentary. The Teddy Jury at the Berlinale 2008: Maria Cyber, Marcin Pietras, Yair Hochner, Vicci Ho, Meninapurtri Wismurti, Basil Tsiokos, Melissa Pritchard, Chirilov Mihai-Cristian.

TEDDY 22 Queer Film Award - The Winners
The TEDDY for the Best Feature Film, endowed with 3,000 Euro, donated by Pro-Fun Media, goes to The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela, by Olaf de Fleur, "for its ability to address race, gender and poverty in an entertaining way, while also playing with audiences expectations of form." (Jury Statement)

The TEDDY Jury Price goes to Be Like Others, by Tanaz Eshaghian, "an uncompromising and moving portrayal of the shocking reality faced by queer Iranians." (Jury Statement)

The TEDDY for the Best Documentary Film, endowed with 3,000 Euro, donated by elledorado e. V. and by the TEDDY Foundation, goes to Football Under Cover, by David Assmann and Ayat Najafi. "This year's documentaries overwhelmingly won the hearts of the TEDDY Jury by approaching challenging and thought-provoking subjects in an accessible and effective manner. The most cinematic and gripping of them all subtly and humorously tackles gender-roles in sports in Islamic society." (Jury Statement)

The TEDDY for the Best Short Film, endowed with 3,000 Euro, donated by TIMM goes to Tá, by FelipeSholl, "a sharp and funny look at a brief encounter between two boys." (Jury Statement)


Dialogue en perspective
The prize Dialogue en perspective for an outstanding work screened in the Berlinale section Perspektive Deutsches Kino was initiated by the French channel TV5Monde in co-operation with Franco-German Youth Office (DFJW) and the Berlin International Film Festival. The prize aspires to make new German cinema more accessible to young French audiences. With this aim in mind, the winning film will also be presented at the Festival of German Film in Paris. The jury has eight members: it is headed by a president, a professional whose work represents the cinematographic dialogue between France and Germany, and further consists of four French and three German members, who are selected by the prize donators by means of a public call for application. In 2008, the jury will be headed by German director and producer Peter Sehr. His selected jury colleagues are: Suzanne Berjot, Hélène Courtel, Marie Klein, Ariane Kujawski, Markus Müller, Haddad Mehdi, Julian Radlmaier.

The jury awards the Prize Dialogue en perspective to

Drifter
by Sebastian Heidinger


Special Mention

Lostage
Star-Crossed
by Bettina Eberhard


Caligari Film Prize
A three-person jury awards the Caligari Film Prize to a film in the Forum. The prize is sponsored by the "German Federal Association of Communal Film Work" and “filmdienst” magazine. The winning film is honoured with 4,000 Euros, half of which is given to the director, the other half is meant to fund distribution. The 2008 jury: Andreas Heidenreich, Dagmar Kamlah, Julia Teichmann.

The jury awards

Tirador (Slingshot)
by Brillante Ma. Mendoza


NETPAC Prize
The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is an alliance of festival organisers and film critics whose aim is to support Asian film. The jury awards a prize to an Asian film screened in the Forum. Jury members this year are Aditya Assarat, Garin Nugroho and Meenakshi Shedde.

The members of the jury award the NETPAC Prize to

United Red Army
by Wakamatsu Koji


Special Mention

Paruthiveeran
by Ameer Sulthan


Peace Film Prize
The jury is composed of 9 members and views films from every section. The 5,000-Euro prize is donated by the Peace Film Award Initiative in association with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). The Peace Film Prize Jury can also award Special Mentions. The jury members for the Berlinale 2008: Harriet Eder, Christoph Heubner, Oliver Passek, Wilma Pradetto, Monica Ch. Puginier, Michael Schorr, Christoph Wermke, Marianne Wündrich-Brosien, Christian Ziewer.


Amnesty International Film Prize
The German branch of amnesty international has awarded the Amnesty International Film Prize for the first time at the Berlinale 2005. This award has already been presented at other international film festivals. The prize is worth 2,500 Euros. The jury will view films entered into the Competition, Panorama and Forum sections, paying special attention to documentaries. The aim of the prize is to draw the attention of audiences and representatives of the film industry to the theme of human rights and encourage filmmakers to tackle this topic. The jury members at the Berlinale 2008: Heike Makatsch, Selina Nelte, Oliver Stoltz.

The jury awards the Amnesty International Film Prize to

Sleep Dealer
by Alex Rivera


Special Mention

Be Like Others
by Tanaz Eshaghian


Femina Film Prize
Germany’s Association of Women Working in Film will award for the first time the annual Femina Film Prize at the Berlinale. The prize honours the “outstanding artistic contribution of a female technician” in a German-language feature film in the areas of set design, camera work, costumes, music or editing. The aim of the prize is to highlight the contribution of the creative work of women towards the final result of a film. The prize is worth 3,000 Euros. The jury is comprised of three women working in the film industry. The jury members at the Berlinale 2008: Adriana Altara, Bettina Böhler, Ann Kristin Reyels.

The jury awards the Femina Film Prize to

Maria Gruber
for set design in Revanche by Götz Spielmann


Special Mention

Isabelle Baumgartner
for costume design in Teenage Angst by Thomas Stuber


Readers Juries and Audience Awards


Panorama Audience Award
All Berlinale visitors can vote for the Panorama Audience Award by filling in a vote sheet. The prize was started in 1999 and is made possible by a joint initiative between the Berlin city magazine "tip", the radio channel "Radioeins" and the Panorama section itself.

PanoramaAudienceAward-Winner 2008:

Lemon Tree
Israel/Germany/France 2008
Directed by Eran Riklis

2nd place PanoramaAudienceAward 2008:

Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story
Australia 2007
Directed by Julian Shaw

3rd place PanoramaAudienceAward 2008:

Erika Rabau – Puck of Berlin
Germany 2007
Directed by Samson Vicent


The "Berliner Morgenpost" Readers' Jury
The jury is made up of 12 readers of the daily newspaper "Berliner Morgenpost". It is awarded to a feature film in the Competition section.

This year’s Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Prize goes to

Il y a longtemps que je t’aime…
I’ve Loved You So Long…
by Philippe Claudel


The ELSE Siegessäule Reader's Choice Award
The jury, which is made up of seven readers of the Berlin gay and lesbian magazine "Siegessäule", takes into account all films with gay or lesbian content, regardless of which section they are in. The prize is awarded to a feature film. The 2008 Jury: Antje Wilms, Tom Neumann, Anja Schittenhelm, Marcus Lichtmannegger, Mario Russo, Reiner von Klingenbiel, Petra Piontek.

The ELSE Siegessäule Reader's Choice Award, endowed with 1.000 Euro donated by Jackwerth Verlag, goes to

Be Like Others
by Tanaz Eshagian.


The "Tagesspiegel" Readers' Jury
At the Berlinale 2007, the Berlin-based national daily newspaper "Tagesspiegel" will for the first time award a Readers' Prize. The jury consists of nine members and the prize is given to the best film in the Forum - along with 3.000 Euro.

This year’s Tagesspiegel Readers’ Prize goes to

God Man Dog
by Singing Chen


VOLKSWAGEN Audience Award
The VOLKSWAGEN Audience Award, endowed with 3.000,- Euro, donated by Volkswagen, goes to Football Under Cover, by David Assmann and Ayat Najafi. More than 4,500 viewers took part in the vote.


Prizes of the Berlinale Talent Campus


Volkswagen Score Competition
The Volkswagen-sponsored prize is directed towards young sound designers and composers. They can enter the Volkswagen Score Competition with sound recordings for selected film clips each two minutes long. An international jury chooses the three best contenders who can then produce their score with the Babelsberg film orchestra in Berlin studios. Afterwards, a jury awards the best score whose composer wins a trip to Los Angeles sponsored by Dolby.

The winner of the VOLKSWAGEN SCORE COMPETITION Award is:

Conrad Oleak (Germany)


Berlin Today Award
For the Berlin Today Award, Campus participants must form international teams and develop an idea for a short film which has something to do with Berlin. Three projects are selected and produced in co-operation with the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and Boxfish Films. The films are shown at the next year’s Berlinale Talent Campus. The jury gives the best of these films the Berlin Today Award.

Winner of the Berlin Today Award 2008

Maheen Zia (Pakistan) for
Match Factor