Russia (bbabo.net), "We were left with no choice," said journalist Reinhard W. Wolf, jury member of the 72nd Berlinale short film competition, announcing the winner. He meant that the film "Trap" by Russian director Anastasia Weber was head and shoulders above all the others (21 films participated in the short film competition).

"Golden Bear" was awarded to the thesis of a graduate of the St. Petersburg School of New Cinema. The 20-minute film is made to the limit, on a bare nerve. It is not just about the musical direction, which is called "trap", but about how giving all the best, uncompromisingly young people live. And this is understandable at any time and in any country.

The culmination of the picture is a fight-performance - a wild dance in which a whole gamut of feelings is manifested. To shoot such a seemingly simple statement, in which, however, every frame is verified, the director, who is also the scriptwriter and producer, took more than four years. Anastasia spoke about this both when she received the prize and at a press conference. She also thanked her team and shared her plans for the future. She would like to shoot a full meter, but retain such a feature of the author's style as a statement in the form of a performance. By the way, Anastasia's award is the first "Golden Bear" for Russia for a long time. Critics immediately rushed to remember how Larisa Shepitko's "Ascent" and Gleb Panfilov's "Theme" received this award, and Sergey Ovcharov and others received this award for a short film. Weber's work is indeed worthy of continuing this series.

There is a Russian trace in another winning film of the 72nd Berlinale. This is the film Unrest, the title of which can be translated as "Anxiety". Director - Kirill Shoiblin. The tape has another name "Kropotkin". Pyotr Kropotkin is a Russian cartographer and revolutionary. According to the plot, the heroine of the film, Josephine, who is responsible for the assembly of mechanical watches (the theme of time in the film is shown carefully and with humor), gets acquainted with the Russian cartographer Pyotr Kropotkin. Together they counter capitalist values ​​with solidarity and pacifism. The film won the Best Director Award in the Encounters Experimental Film Section.

Now about the main awards of the grand international jury of the 72nd Berlinale, which was headed by director Night M. Shyamalan. "Golden Bear" went to the film "Alcarras", directed by Carla Simon. Critics were quick to compare the picture with Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. Indeed, it has the same motive - the new world comes, destroying the old values. Only the garden in the film is peach. The authors tell the story of a family of farmers who must change their way of life, giving way to progress and those who intend to establish new rules. What does such an award at the Berlinale mean? What is important today is the family, is it true of a small person, the opportunity to protect him? But the Berlin Festival would not have been itself if it had not brought to the picture that people are forced to break away from their homes, leave their favorite territories. This is the Berlinale's favorite theme. A fragment of the picture, in which tractors crush the peach orchard, is perceived as a bloody human massacre.

On the eve of the awards ceremony, she predicted five awards out of eight in the main competition. So, there was no doubt that Claire Denis (Silver Bear for Best Director) would leave without The Bear. Her film "On Both Sides of the Blade" is an intimate confidential story about the fate of a woman in whose life there are two main men. With one of them, she cannot be due to the peculiarities of his character. She is calm with the other, but you can’t hide feelings for the first anywhere. About the heroine of Juliette Binoche, Claire Denis said at the press conference of the laureates that in fact the victim in the love triangle is she. By the way, the film was bought in Russia, it will be released on our screens this year.

The Grand Jury Prize "Silver Bear" was awarded to the film "Writer's Film" by Korean director Hong Sang-soo, which tells that the possibilities of the creator are endless. Hong Sang Soo is a Berlinale favorite. "A Writer's Film" is his 27th film work, and Berlin's "Bears" have already been found in the "reserve" of this extensive filmography. And, well deserved.

The Jury Prize "Silver Bear" went to the film Robe of Gems, the title of which can be translated as "Robe of Precious Stones". Directed by Natalia Lopez Gallardo. The painting is a co-production of Mexico and Argentina. The film also tells the story of a family and an abandoned home. The theme of abandonment alternates with an exploration of the nature of violence."Silver Bear" for "Best Screenplay" was awarded to Laila Stieler for the film "Rabbi Kurnatz vs. George Bush". The actress from the same picture, Meltem Kaptan, won the award for "Best Role". This "Bear" was the most predictable of all - Meltem played a mother whose love for her son is beyond any boundaries. The actress herself, receiving the prize, gave just such a characteristic to her heroine. The film tells about how a loving mother from a Turkish family living in Germany, raised the whole world to her feet in order to rescue her first child from captivity in Guantanamo, who was imprisoned on unfair charges. The time of action in the film is the beginning of the 2000s, we are talking about the 9/11 terrorist attack. The picture is based on real events.

Laura Bazooki won the Best Supporting Actress award for her performance in the Indonesian film Nana, which tells the story of a woman who struggles to overcome the effects of war in her life.

Special Jury Mention was given to the Swiss film "Piece of the Sky" (directed by Michael Koch). This film, which reveals the issues of life and death in a new way, which is very relevant in our time, many predicted the "Golden Bear". The award "For contribution to cinema" is also in the form of a bear, but Cambodian director Rithi Panh received Silver: his film "Everything will be fine" was presented in the competition. And here it can really be noted that the Berlinale has changed this year. Previously, this provocative, completely tied to politics, spectacle would definitely have been given the Golden Bear.

Meanwhile

Unfortunately, Alexander Zolotukhin's Russian film "Brother in Everything" did not win the Encounters experimental film competition, where it was presented. The "Golden Bear" in this section was given to the Austrian film "Mutzenbacher" (directed by Ruth Beckerman).

Direct speech

Anastasia Veber:

"The name "Trap" came to me not by chance, at the very beginning of the work on the project. This is not only an allegory about the "cage" or a reference to the current musical style. Trap is a way of life and a manner of extreme feeling that most young guys live in every corner Russia. Trap is when you should have died a long time ago, but for some reason you are still alive. When you feel too keenly and live, choosing your inner truth and passion as a guide. The casting was done according to the same principles. If I want To make my movies true, I can only film people who don't lie to themselves.

Claire Denis:

Claire, why do you think the theme of love continues to be so eternal and inexhaustible, despite the fact that the world around is rapidly changing in many of its aspects - from psychological and social to political?

Claire Denis: I think the characters in the film, Jean and Sarah, live in the world as it is. At the same time, their life seems to be well-established, but suddenly there is an invasion from the past and disrupts this balance. Maybe the balance was not so perfect after all? A man who came from the past brings a certain emptiness to the life of a couple.

I think that it is not necessary for cinema to always deal directly with the socio-political situation in the world. However, it somehow deals with the world, the main scheme of which is the search for the opportunity to look at each other, love each other, live with certain people. But when it comes to passion, it has no order. I never said to myself: "Claire, you have to make a film about passion and love!". It came to me through the actors, as always. Juliette Binoche, Grégoire Colin and Vincent Lindon all three pushed me to this story. Also, I wrote this film with a French writer that I really like - Christine Ango - we get along well. And the film shows the feelings that we share: the sorrow, pain and joy of love."

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