Sunday
Feb252024
Berlinale #7: France is the big winner at Berlin
Sunday, February 25, 2024 at 2:00PM By Elisa Giudici
Mati Diop and Lupita Nyong'o at the awards ceremony © Ali Ghandtschi / Berlinale 2024
There was a clear standout at the 74th annual Berlinale: French cinema. Given the competition lineup, France secured all three podium positions one way or another. Let's start with the Golden Bear, naturally. The jury, led by Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o, crowned a new documentary by French-Senegalese director Mati Diop (of Atlantics fame) as the winner. It's a double win for French cinema: not only is Diop a French citizen, but she's also a product of the Cannes Film Festival, a source of national pride.
Her winning documentary, Dahomey, is a low-budget project that might have struggled in the bright spotlight at Cannes...