Kenyan-Mexican Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, the first black jury president at the 74th annual event, will present the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes at a gala ceremony.
An international critics’ poll by Britain’s Screen magazine showed the bittersweet Iranian romance “My Favourite Cake” and Austria’s ultraviolent “The Devil’s Bath” as the biggest hits among 20 films in competition.
The success of “My Favourite Cake” proved particularly poignant as the duo behind the crowd-pleaser, Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, were barred by Iranian authorities from travelling to Berlin for the premiere.
The film tells the story of a lonely retired nurse who shares a night of drinking, dancing and passion with a fellow pensioner at her home, beyond the prying eyes of the feared morality police.
Moghaddam, 52, told AFP via video link from Tehran that the film’s crime according to censors was “crossing so many red lines which have been forbidden in Iran for 45 years” since the Islamic revolution.
The Guardian hailed the eye-opening movie as “wonderfully sweet and funny”, while The Hollywood Reporter said it “crackles with the valiant, liberational energy of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement”.
