The actress Magaly Solier (left) and director Claudia Llosa (right) celebrate the triumph of the film 'Milk of Sorrow' at the film festival Berlinale 2009 in Berlin.
The actress Magaly Solier (left) and director Claudia Llosa (right) celebrate the triumph of the film 'Milk of Sorrow' at the film festival Berlinale 2009 in Berlin.
Berlin/New York (meaus) 'The Milk of Sorrow' from Peruvian director Claudia Llosa won Berlinale's Golden Bear for best film. In the politically tinged drama, which also has elements of magic realism, a disease is being passed from mother to daughter through breast milk. It turns out that the mothers were all victims of the decades-long battle between the Peruvian government and Shining Path terrorists.
A scene from the film 'The Milk of Sorrow' by Claudia Llosa from Peru. The main actors Magaly Solier, Susi Sanchez and Efrain Solis depict how a woman works out being minhandled in her life.
The second place in the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, the Silver Bear Award went to Asghar Farhadi from Iran. The festival's jury granted the prize to the Iranian director for his internationally-acclaimed film 'About Elly'.
The European cinema critics were much interested in this Iranian film, which was first showcased in the event. Only a week ago in Tehran, it received the 27th Fajr International Film Festival's first prize for best director.
Iranian film director Asghar Farhadi receives the Silver Bear Award in Berlin.
"I have not prepared beforehand any text to read here, and I say what is in my heart. I thank God and I know if he had not helped me, I would not stand here now. I praise my compatriots and the Iranian culture, about which you don't have a clear picture," he said after receiving the prize.
He also appreciated the Berlin Film Festival, the people of Berlin and the group that worked with him on the film's production. "It makes me so satisfied that my compatriots and Berlin Film Festival's jury share the same view on the film," Farhadi said.
'About Elly' tells the story of an Iranian man who returns home, after years of living in Germany, and who now wants to marry an Iranian woman.
In the film 'About Elly' by Asghar Farhadi from Iran, with actors Golshifteh Farahani, Taraneh Alidousti and Mani Haghighi, a woman mysteriously disappears.
© PROMETHEUS 140/2009
PROMETHEUS, Internet Bulletin - News, Politics, Art and Science. Nr. 140, February, 2009