Turkish film, Polanski winners at Berlin film fest

Bal (Honey), a Turkish film by Semih Kaplanoglu, has captured the top prize at the Berlin film festival.

The story of a six-year-old boy who stops talking when his father disappears was handed the Golden Bear for best picture at a ceremony Saturday in Berlin. Bal — the last of Kaplanoglu’s autobiographical trilogy which includes Egg (2007) and Milk (2008) — beat out 25 other films.

Roman Polanski — who is currently under house arrest in Switzerland waiting possible extradition to the United States on a 32-year-old sex charge — won the best director trophy for The Ghost Writer.

“Even if I could come, I wouldn’t,” Polanski said in a message read out by his producer Alain Sarde, who accepted the award on his behalf, “because the last time I went to a festival to accept an award, I ended up in jail.”

The statement refers to the filmmaker’s arrest last September when he flew to Zurich to attend a film festival.

The film, starring Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor, concerns a bestselling writer who is hired to pen the memoirs of a British prime minister.

The Silver Bear, the runner-up to best picture, was handed to Florin Serban’s hard-edged examination of juvenile delinquents in Romania, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle.

Other accolades given out include the best actress honour to Shinobu Terajima, for the Japanese movie Caterpillar.

Russian film nabs major prizes

The best actor award was shared by the two leads from Kak ya provel etim letom (How I Ended This Summer), Grigori Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis.

The film, a Russian thriller about two men stuck at an Arctic polar station, also earned a top cinematography prize for Pavel Kostomarov.

Best script went to Wang Quan’an and Na Jin for China’s Tuan Yuan (Apart Together), which was the festival’s opening film.

This year’s jury includes veteran filmmaker Werner Herzog and actress Renee Zellweger.

Other prizes include:

• Best First Feature: Sebbe by Babak Najafi (Sweden).
• Audience Award: The documentary Waste Land by Lucy Walker, João Jardim, Karen Harley (U.K./Brazil).
• Best Short Film: Händelse Vid Bank by Ruben Östlund (Sweden).