The
movie, directed by Calin Peter Netzer and starring Luminita Gheorghiu in the
central role, had been among the favourites for the coveted prize, which extends
the remarkable success of Romanian filmmakers on the European festival
circuit.
The awards ceremony brought to a close the 11-day cinema
showcase, where hundreds of movies were screened across Berlin and stars
including Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage, Anne Hathaway, Jude Law and Catherine
Deneuve walked the red carpet.
In ‘Child's Pose’, Gheorghiu shines as the
wealthy 60-year-old Cornelia, who attempts to buy off the poor family of a boy
killed by her son in a road accident.
The veteran actress also appeared
in Cristian Mungiu's ‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’, a grisly abortion drama
that put Romanian cinema firmly on the international map when it won the Palme
d'Or at the Cannes film festival in 2007.
"I'm still shell-shocked,"
Netzer told reporters after the ceremony. "I haven't quite woken up to this new
reality. It will probably take a couple of days for it to sink in."
The
big surprise on the night was the best actor award for Nazif Mujic, a Bosnian
Roma who had to be convinced to play himself in "An Episode in the Life of an
Iron Picker" about his own experiences on the fringes of society.
The
movie, a docu-drama directed by Danis Tanovic and made for 30,000 euros,
captured hearts in Berlin for its straightforward storytelling and moving
account of the impoverished Mujic's desperate attempts to pay for his wife's
emergency operation.
"Feels Like Neil Armstrong"
Tanovic, an Oscar
winner for his 2001 war movie "No Man's Land", read about the story in a local
newspaper in 2011 and was so angry at Bosnian society's apparent lack of
humanity that he determined to make a film about it.
"I think he (Mujic)
feels like Neil Armstrong when he went to the moon, seriously," Tanovic said of
his star. "And I really do hope it is going to change his life for the
better."
Arguably the most popular winner at the 63rd Berlin film
festival was Paulina Garcia, the Chilean actress whose portrayal in "Gloria" of
a 58-year-old divorcee in Santiago was the highlight for many festival-goers and
won her best actress.
Refusing to retire quietly into the background,
Gloria drinks, smokes, parties and enjoys sex, all the while holding down a full
time job and keeping in touch with her children.
The powerful older woman
was a constant theme throughout the main competition of 19 films eligible for
prizes, and Garcia was up against Gheorghiu and French actresses Catherine
Deneuve and Juliette Binoche for the acting Silver Bear.
Best director
went to US filmmaker David Gordon Green for his touching road movie "Prince
Avalanche", in which Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch play a pair of misfits who go to
work in a remote forest where they embark on a journey of
self-discovery.
Iranian entry "Closed Curtain" picked up the best script
prize for directors Kamboziya Partovi and Jafar Panahi. Panahi made the movie in
secret in defiance of a 20-year filmmaking ban and was not allowed to travel to
Berlin to collect his award.
"Tradition and culture remain, politicians
come and go," Partovi told reporters after receiving the honour.
Kazakh
cinematographer Aziz Zhambakiyev was honoured for outstanding artistic
achievement for his painterly work on "Harmony Lessons", set on the harsh
steppes of Kazakhstan.
