Monday, February 18, 2008

Brazilian film wins top honors in Berlin

Controversial Brazilian film “The Elite Squad” (“Tropa De Elite”) won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival this weekend. The movie- a fictional account of the activities of one of Brazil’s chief police units- beat other favorites including the Errol Morris-directed documentary “Standard Operating Procedure,” and U.S. hit “There Will Be Blood”.

“The Elite Squad” has been a box office smash in Brazil though it had raised the ire of some police officers who tried to get the film banned last year due to its depiction of corruption. Nevertheless, director Jose Padilha gladly accepted the Golden Bear [image] as recognition of Brazilian filmmaking:

“This is a prize for Brazilian film, not just for me,” Padilha said after [Sunday’s] award ceremony in Berlin. “This is recognition I did not expect. It is an incentive to make new, critical films that are very important for our country.”

The judges at the Berlin Film Festival also rewarded Mexican director Fernando Eimbcke who won the prize for most innovative film- “Lake Tahoe”.

Image- BBC News

Sources- Associated Press, AFP, The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, Reuters UK, imdb.com

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