The Awards and Jury of Berlinale Shorts

The members of the 2024 International Short Film Jury - Ilker Çatak, Xabier Erkizia and Jennifer Reeder - award the following prizes:

Golden Bear for Best Short Film

Un movimiento extraño (An Odd Turn)
by Francisco Lezama

Jury Statement:

"How do you find your way as a young person in a world that provides no security? Do you become a security guard yourself? Do you expose yourself to art, casual sexual partners, or perhaps seek spirituality and try to see into the future?” Francisco Lezama demonstrates sharp insight into the dynamics between young people and society, adeptly highlighting social issues without resorting to accusation. Through the protagonist's 22-minute journey, the film brims with vitality, wry humor, and nuanced social commentary, all encapsulating the absurdity of our capitalist times. This film thoroughly impressed the jury with its cleverness, youthful insight, and masterful craft. This year's Golden Bear for Best Short Film goes to Francisco Lezama's Un movimiento extraño.

Silver Bear Jury Prize

Re tian wu hou (Remains of the Hot Day)
by Wenqian Zhang

Jury Statement:

Depicting the world, especially the one we live in, is no longer a question of general views. Just as the map can’t represent the world, and when it does, we know the tragic consequences of that attempt. Cinema must aspire to show what does not fit on the map. All that exceeds the frame. Sometimes, listening, just for a while, is enough to understand that the world is made up of infinite overlapping layers, hundreds of simultaneous details, hidden sensibilities and subtle emotions. For its elegance and delicacy, and the extreme care shown to invite us to observe and listen to a small portion of the world, this jury has decided to award with the Silver Bear Jury Prize the film Re tian wu hou by Wenqian Zhang.

Special Mention

That’s All from Me
by Eva Könnemann

Berlin Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards

That’s All from Me
by Eva Könnemann

Jury Statement:

Over this past week, we the International Short Film Jury , have been reminded over and over how the short form itself can allow for the kind of bold and unexpected moves, which would likely not work in a feature length. This is precisely why we are awarding a Jury Special Mention, and the Berlin Short Film Candidate for the European Film Awards to a short film that uses creative non-fiction to reflect on a life lived between two consuming monoliths, filmmaking, and motherhood. An exchange of letters between women, no playgrounds and a bird watcher come together to tell a truly special story which may or may not actually be true. It is also a perfect example of why short films are people too. Congratulations to Eva Könnemann for That’s All from Me.

International Short Film Jury 2024

© Florian Mag

Ilker Çatak (Germany)

Ilker Çatak is a director and screenwriter from Berlin. He grew up in Berlin and Istanbul and spent four years working for German and international cinema productions before studying film formally. He has realised over a dozen short films; his graduation film Sadakat won the Student Academy Award in Gold in 2015. His fourth feature film Das Lehrerzimmer (The Teacher's Lounge), which premiered last year in Panorama, is nominated for the Oscar® as Best International Feature Film of the Year 2024. The film has been honoured with multiple distinctions, including five German Film Awards. Çatak has also received numerous prizes for his other short and feature-length works, such as Es gilt das gesprochene Wort (I Was, I Am, I Will Be).

© Asier Gogortza

Xabier Erkizia (Spain)

Xabier Erkizia is a sound artist and researcher from the Basque region. In his works, he examines the acts of listening to, producing and shaping sound. He realises projects both as a solo artist and in collaboration with other artists and bands. He also creates sound installations for exhibitions and stage productions as well as radio productions and film soundtracks. El sembrador de estrellas (Berlinale Shorts 2022) and Samsara (Encounters 2023) by Lois Patiño are two of over 100 films he has worked on. In addition, Erkizia is active as a filmmaker, researches and publishes on sound in all its forms, curates music festivals and teaches.

© Joe Mazza

Jennifer Reeder (USA)

Jennifer Reeder is a director, screenwriter, video artist and lecturer from Chicago. Alongside her training as a ballet dancer, she began her artistic career with the trilogy The White Trash Girl, shot on VHS, in which she played the lead role. In her short films, she has devoted herself to the world of young girls, making her own mark in the teen-film genre in the process. Her films have been shown around the world, both in fine art contexts and at prestigious film festivals. Reeder's past Berlinale highlights include premieres of Blood Below the Skin (Berlinale Shorts 2015), Crystal Lake (Generation 2016), her first feature-length film Knives and Skin (Generation 2019) and the horror-thriller Perpetrator (Panorama 2023).