Llosa’s “Sorrow” Wins Golden Bear in Berlin; Biniez’ “Gigante” Gets 3 Prizes by Eugene Hernandez and Brian Brooks (February 14, 2009)
Presented tonight in Germany, the winners of the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival capped the 59th Berlinale. Honors were particularly strong for films from South America, with Claudia Llosa’s “La teta asustada” (The Milk of Sorrow) from Peru winning the Golden Bear, the top prize at this year’s festival. Adrian Biniez’s Uruguay-set “Gigante” won three awards. In an emotional moment capping the Berlinale, Peruvian filmmaker Claudia Llosa accepted the Golden Bear for best feature at the awards ceremony from festival head Dieter Kosslick and jury president Tilda Swinton for “The Milk of Sorrow” (La Teta Asustada). The film is the personal story that recalls a dark period in the South American country’s history when an estimated 70,000 people were murdered between 1980 and 2000. Fausta (Magaly Solier) is ill with a disease contracted from her mother’s breast milk. The sickness is not biological, however, it’s a condition that soley affects women in Peru who were abused or raped during the years of persecution. Although the era has ended, Fausta is nevertheless a living reminder of this time and her “sickness” is a fear that has robbed her of her soul. When Fausta’s mother dies, she is forced to confont her fear and reveals the lengths to which she is willing to stare down her paranoia. In order to keep unwelcome intruders from entering her body, she has inserted a potato into her vagina as a kind of “antibacterial defence shield.” Her mother’s death, however, unleashes a series of events that alter her path dramatically and sets her on a path to freedom.
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AFI Fest
AFI Fest '09
AN EDUCATION
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