Filmmaker Mati Diop took the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday night when her film “Dahomey” was awarded the Golden Bear for Best Film.
Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias won for Best Director for his film “Pepe,” with Sebastian Stan winning the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance for his performance in “A Different Man.”
Fellow actor Emily Watson won the Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance for her performance in “Small Things Like These.”
Other winners included director Hong Sangsoo who won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for his film “A Traveler’s Needs,” and French director and screenwriter, Bruno Dumont won the Silver Bear Jury Prize for his film “L’ Empire.”
“Dahomey” follows the journey of plundered artifacts taken by French colonial troops in 1892, being sent from Paris to the Republic of Benin and the impact of their return.
Kenyan-Mexican actor Lupita Nyong’o served as the Berlinale’s first black jury president at this year’s festival. The Oscar was joined on the jury by actor-directors Brady Corbet and Jasmine Trinca and directors Ann Hui, Christian Petzold and Albert Serra alongside Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko.
