This year's top prize at the Berlin International Film Festival has gone to "Milk of Sorrow." The Peruvian movie deals with the aftermath of the country's recent history, in particular the terrible legacy of the sexual abuse suffered by many women.
Peruvian film "La Teda Asustada" ("Milk of Sorrow") has triumphed in Berlin this week, scooping the much coveted Golden Bear, the top prize in the city's international film festival.
While the Berlinale may have seen record numbers of ticket sales this year, it was not deemed a vintage year when it came to movies. However jury president Tilda Swinton said that the seven jurors had been unanimous in their decision to award the prize to the film by Claudia Llosa, which deals with the issue of women abused during Peru's recent turbulent history.
Celebrate the triumph of "Milk of Sorrow" at the Berlinale. The movie stars Magaly Solier as Fausta, a young woman who suffers a mysterious illness that is said to be transmitted to children through the milk of mothers who were raped during the long war between the Peruvian government and the Shining Path leftist guerrillas.
"This is beautiful ... this is such an honor," Llosa said after receiving the award on Saturday night. "This is for Peru. This is for our country." The award is the second year in a row that the Golden Bear has gone to a Latin American country, following the success of Brazilian film "Tropa de Elite" in 2008.
The runner-up prize, the Silver Bear, was shared by two films this year. Argentinean director Adrian Biniez was lauded for his debut feature "Gigante," which tells the story of a supermarket security guard who falls in love with a cleaner. Home-grown talent was recognized, too: German director Maren Ade's "Everyone Else" was also awarded the Silver Bear. The film's leading lady, Austrian-born Birgit Minichmayr, won the prize for best actress.
The best actor award went to Sotigui Kouyate for his part in "London River," where he plays a French Muslim searching for his son after the 2005 terrorist attacks in London.
The gong for best director went to Iran's Asghar Farhadi for his "About Elly," a tale about a group of 30-something Iranians whose trip to the seaside goes horribly awry.
Other prizes included the best script award for Oren Moverman and Alessandro Camon for the film "The Messenger," which was directed by Moverman and features Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster as US Army officers who are responsible for informing families about the loss of their loved ones in combat.
Veteran Polish director Andrzej Wajda was also on the roll call of winners on Saturday night. His movie "Tatarak" ("Sweet Rush") was honored for innovative filmmaking.
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