Berlin: Indie Juries Pick ‘Sex’, ‘Dying’ and ‘Cake’

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 guild 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