Syrian refugee film, Palestinian doc pick up prizes at Berlinale

Aki Kaurismaki

BERLIN: Finland’s Aki Kaurismaki clinched best director at the Berlin film festival for his Syrian refugee comedy “The Other Side of Hope,” a call for compassion toward migrants seeking asylum in Europe.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much,” the notoriously taciturn filmmaker said as he picked up the Silver Bear trophy and left the stage.
The film uses humor to depict the experiences in Helsinki of stowaway Syrian asylum seeker Khaled, who decides to remain in the country illegally after his application is rejected.
Best documentary, awarded for the first time at the festival, was picked up by Palestinian director Raed Andoni for “Ghost Hunting.”
The film recreates a notorious Israeli interrogation center — and has ex-prisoners re-enact experiences in a bid to free them of their demons.
“I work with people living in the most dark place and getting honored in this light... I feel honored,” said Andoni, who also served time behind bars in Israel.
“We still have 7,000 Palestinians living in those jails... They never get the recognition as I do.”
Hungary’s “On Body and Soul,” a tender love story set in a slaughterhouse, won the Golden Bear top prize.
South Korea’s Kim Min-hee, the star of Hong Sang-soo’s intimate drama “On the Beach at Night Alone” which tackles a failed love affair with a director, won best actress.
And Austria’s Georg Friedrich scooped best actor for his role in the German drama “Bright Nights” as a mourning father who takes his teenage son on a road trip through Norway.