‘Dreams,' Film About Teen Infatuation, Takes Top Prize at Berlin International Film Festival
Part of a trilogy about contemporary relationships in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, the understated feature follows the consequences of a high school student's obsession with her teacher and her decision to write about their relationship. The other two installments, 'Sex' and 'Love,' premiered last year at the Berlin and Venice film festivals.
In his acceptance speech, Haugerud said the film was about the act of 'writing and reading.' He added that people should 'write more and read more, it expands your mind.' He also praised the film's young star, Ella Overbye, whose warm, finely calibrated performance carries much of the film.
The American director Todd Haynes led this year's jury, which included the Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, the German filmmaker and actress Maria Schrader, and the Los Angeles Times film critic Amy Nicholson.
The runner-up prize went to 'The Blue Trail,' a Brazilian film set in a society in which people above the age of 77 are sent to a 'colony.' It was one of the most praised titles in competition at the Berlinale, as the festival is known in Germany.
'The Message,' a film from Argentina about a girl who claims to communicate with animals, won the special jury prize. In his speech, the director Iván Fund said the award represented a 'counterweight' to the government's drastic cuts to the cultural sector under President Javier Milei. 'Cinema is under attack,' Fund said, but 'film cannot be undone.'
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