Mati Diop’s ‘Dahomey’ Wins Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear Honor
After her breakthrough feature “Atlantics” turned heads in 2019, filmmaker Mati Diop has again scored accolades with “Dahomey,” which just emerged victorious as the winner of the 2024 Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Diop’s trenchant look at colonialism, which runs a tight 67 minutes, furthers her reputation as one of global cinema’s brightest lights, and bested Silver Beay jury prize winners “A Traveler’s Needs” and “The Empire” for the main prize, despite these films being helmed by global sensations Hong Sangsoo and Bruno Dumont, respectively.
In the performance categories, Sebastian Stan won leading honors for his heralded work as a deeply immersed actor in Aaron Schimberg’s “A Different Man,” while veteran, multi-Oscar nominated Emily Watson scored the supporting kudos for her work in the historical Magdalene laundries elegy “Small Things Like These,” in which she stars opposite Cillian Murphy and Eileen Walsh.
This year’s competition jury was led by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and included Brady Corbet, Christian Petzold, Albert Serra, Anny Hui, Jasmine Trinca, and Oksana Zabuzhko,
Below is the fill list of winners for the Berlin Film Festival:
Main Competition
Golden Bear: “Dahomey,” Mati Diop
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: “A Traveler’s Needs,” Hong Sangsoo
Silver Bear Jury Prize: “The Empire,” Bruno Dumont
Silver Bear for Best Director: “Pepe,” Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias
Silver Bear for Best Lead Performance: “A Different Man,” Sebastian Stan
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: “Small Things Like These,” Emily Watson
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: “Dying,” Matthias Glasner
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: “The Devil’s Bath,” Martin Gschlacht, cinematography
Encounters winners:
Best Film: “Direct Action,” Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell
Best Director: “Cidade; Campo,” Juliana Rojas
Special Jury Award: “The Great Yawn of History,” Aliyar Rasti; “Some Rain Must Fall,” Qiu Yang
Documentary winners:
Best Documentary: “No Other Land,” Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Documentary Special Mention: “Direct Action,” Guillaume Cailleau and Ben Russell
Berlinale Shorts winners:
Golden Bear: “An Odd Turn,” Francisco Lezama
Silver Bear: “Remains of the Hot Day,” Wenqian Zhang
Special Mention: “That’s All From Me,” Eva Könnemann
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