The Survival of Kindness, directed by Rolf de Heer, earned the top prize for best film at this year’s Berlinale as picked by the Fipresci jury.
Produced by Vertigo Productions and Triptych Pictures, the stark and dialog-free dystopian fable about racism and the legacy of colonialism, is being sold worldwide by Fandango.
Bas Devos’ Here, a quietly romantic drama about a construction worker and a scientist who cross paths and start to help one another, took the Fipresci prize for best film screening in Berlin’s Encounters section. The feature, produced by Belgian firm Quetzalcoatl, is being sold worldwide by China’s Rediance.
The Quiet Migration, the narrative feature debut of director Malene Choi (The Return), won the Fipresci best film prize for the Panorama section. Won Riedel-Clausen stars in the film as the 19-year-old Carl, born in South Korea, who lives a quiet life in the Danish countryside with his Danish adoptive parents. His parents expect him to take over the family farm and continue with their traditions. But Carl also feels drawn to his native homeland and is caught between two worlds.
Choi co-wrote the film’s script together with Sissel Dalsgaard Thomsen. Maria Møller Kjeldgaard produced for Manna Film. Paradis is handling distribution for The Quiet Migration in Denmark, and Mer Film in Norway. TrustNordisk is selling the film worldwide.
Vlad Petri’s Between Revolutions, a documentary composed entirely from archive material, that looks at life under the Romanian and Iranian dictatorship in the 1980s, through the lens of two female students and friends — one Iranian, one Romanian — was the Fipresci pick for best film in the 2023 Forum section. Produced by Activ Docs, it is being sold worldwide by CAT&Docs.
The International Federation of Film Critics, or Fipresci, is an association of national organisations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world dedicated to the “promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests.” They present awards at most major “A-list” festivals worldwide.
