'Child’s Pose' wins best film at Berlin Film Festival

The Berlin Film Festival ended after 11 days of cinematic exploration with the International Jury awarding the Golden Bear for Best Film to Romanian picture Child’s Pose.

Directed by Calin Peter Netzer, Child’s Pose probes the corruption of the upper class in Romania. It follows the story of an overbearing mother, played by Luminita Gheorghiu, who calls in connections and puts out bribes in an effort to keep her son out of jail after he kills a boy in a traffic accident, Businessweek reported.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Ada Solomon, the film’s producer, stated upon receiving the award, “Romanian politicians should pay much more attention to the kind of ambassador Romanian cinema is for our country around the world."

Meanwhile, the Silver Bear for the Jury Grand Prix was awarded to An Episode in the Life of an Iron-Picker, a Bosnian film directed by Danis Tanovic, which depicts the real-life struggles of lead actor Nazif Mujic who also won the Silver Bear for Best Actor, according to Reuters.

Headed by Chinese director Wong Kar Wai, the International Jury also awarded prizes to David Gordon Green for his work as director on Prince Avalanche, Paulina Garcia for Best Actress in Gloria, Jafar Panahi for Best Script for Closed Curtain and Aziz Zhambakiyev for artistic contribution to Harmony Lessons, according to the L.A. times.