Who will succeed "Nos Soleils", a Catalan ode to agriculture by the Spaniard Carla Simon, crowned last year?

Some films have been particularly noticed, but the games still seem very open.

Among those who stood out, "Past Lives" would be the most consensual choice, and the most accessible, in an often very demanding selection.

This first film, inspired by the life of Korean-born Canadian director Celine Song, explores the question of identity, uprooting and love, when the main character, an author who left her native Korea in 12 years old and married in the United States, finds her childhood friend.

(L to R) South Korean actor Teo Yoo, Korean-born Canadian director Celine Song, and American actors Greta Lee and John Magaro on the red carpet at the Berlin Film Festival before the presentation of their film, "Past Lives, February 19, 2023 © Stefanie Loos / AFP

The sober direction and the accuracy of certain scenes have made it a favorite with critics, even if the film can seem lacking in madness and does not escape certain clichés of American romances.

Spanish-speaking cinema

Unless the trophy remains one more year on the side of Spanish-speaking cinema, which once again scored points with two films.

The first: "20,000 especies de abejas" ("20,000 species of bees") by the Spanish Estíbaliz Urresola powerfully tackles a very contemporary subject, the question of transidentity in children.

This feature film won two independent jury prizes on Saturday: that of the Berlin newspaper Morgenpost and that of the association of German arthouse cinemas.

The director of the film "20,000 species of bees", the Spaniard Estíbaliz Urresola (C), surrounded by three actresses of the film, from L to R, the Spaniards Itziar Lazkano, Sofia Otero and Patricia Lopez Arnaiz, on February 22, 2023 at the Berlin festival © Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP

The second, "Tótem" by the Mexican Lila Avilés, charmed the festival-goers: it is a family fresco which navigates between joy and despair while avoiding all pathos, around a little girl and her father, seriously ill .

The festival could also choose to reward, for the second time in its history, a Japanese animated film, 21 years after the Golden Bear at "Spirited Away" by the pope of the genre, Hayao Miyazaki.

Makoto Shinkai, another star of Japanese animation cinema, presented "Suzume", a road movie, whose heroine tries to prevent earthquakes.

The film, already released in Japan, was a box office there.

(from L to R) Japanese director and screenwriter Makoto Shinkai, Japanese actress Nanoka Hara and Japanese producer Genki Kawamura, at the Berlin festival for the presentation of the animated film "Suzume", February 23, 2023 © Stefanie Loos /AFP

On the French side, Philippe Garrel seems out of the race as his "Grand Chariot", shot with and for his children, including Louis, seemed self-centered.

On the other hand, the documentary filmmaker Nicolas Philibert ("Being and Having") was able to score points with "Sur l'Adamant", a sensitive immersion on board a barge acting as a day hospital for people with psychiatric illnesses in Paris.

Jesse Eisenberg?

In addition to the Golden Bear, the jury awards seven Silver Bears, including the prize for best performer in a main role, and best performer in a secondary role, regardless of gender.

Berlin is the only major festival to no longer present a Best Actor or Best Actress award.

Very few well-known stars seem eligible this year: the American Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network"), transformed into a bodybuilder VTC driver in "Manodrome", with Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") in a supporting role, or the Luxembourg actress and polyglot Vicky Krieps for a German film about the poet Ingeborg Bachmann.

American actor Jesse Eisenberg, who plays in the film "Manodrome", at the Berlin festival on February 18, 2023 © Stefanie Loos / AFP

Alongside the youngest jury president in the history of the festival, Kristen Stewart, sit a majority of female artists, including Franco-Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, and director Carla Simon.

Beyond the competition, this 73rd edition has allowed the Berlinale to return to normality, after the restrictions linked to Covid.

We were able to see Sean Penn, who came to present a documentary on his wanderings in Ukraine at war, the singer Bono and the legendary director Steven Spielberg, who received an honorary Golden Bear.

Friday evening, Teddy Bear (rewarding the best film on an LGBT theme) was awarded to "All the Colors of the World Are Between Black and White", a love story by Nigerian Babatunde Apalowo.

© 2023 AFP