Mar 05, 2021
Berlinale 2021: Awards in the Encounters Section

The Encounters jury – programmer Florence Almozini (France), artistic director Cecilia Barrionuevo (Argentina) as well as author and critic Diedrich Diederichsen (Germany) – has decided on the prizes.
The festive Award Ceremony will take place at the Summer Special (June 9 to 20, 2021).

Best Film

Nous (We) by Alice Diop (France) - documentary form

Jury statement:
“A work that shows true delicacy and sensitivity in crafting a collective, choral portrait that is rich in meanings, nuance and, above all, lived experience.”

Special Jury Award

Vị (Taste) by Lê Bảo (Vietnam / Singapore / France / Thailand / Germany / Taiwan) – debut film

Jury statement:
“A fearlessly clear composed and choreographic abstraction of social relations, using very concrete building blocks - slum architecture, football rules, cooking, the weight of human bodies - to construct a field of tensions, as stable as it is nervous, between a type of ascetic emancipation and dystopic regression.”

Best Director (ex-aequo)

Das Mädchen und die Spinne (The Girl and the Spider) by Ramon Zürcher, Silvan Zürcher (Switzerland)

Jury statement:
“A remarkable construction of a rigorous mise en scène serving the ambiguity of each character with grace, humour, subtlety, and ultimately embracing the complexity of human relationships.”

Best Director (ex-aequo)

Hygiène sociale (Social Hygiene) by Denis Côté (Canada)

Jury statement:
“The film shows incredible agility in mixing different tones, film historical references and diverse, wonderfully verbose characters, topped off with a delicate yet hearty humour that is something very needed right now.”

Special Mention

Rock Bottom Riser by Fern Silva (USA) – experimental film / debut film

Jury statement:
“A tale about the loneliness of a very agitated rock: alone in the ocean, in the galaxies, in the universe. Along the way it encounters - in a virtuoso manner - unexpected and very diverse images for the necessity of a decolonisation of science.”

Press Office
March 5, 2021