Nadav Lapid's 'Synonyms' wins top prize at Berlin Film Festival

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Israeli director Nadav Lapid’s "Synonyms," a movie about a young Israeli man who uproots himself to France and is determined to put his homeland behind him, won the Berlin International Film Festival’s top Golden Bear award on Saturday.

A jury headed by French actress Juliette Binoche chose the movie from a field of 16 competing at the first of the year's major European film festivals.

Set in Paris, it stars Tom Mercier in the role of Yoav, who refuses to speak Hebrew and is accompanied by an ever-present French dictionary as he tries to put down roots and create a new identity for himself.

French actress and president of the Berlinale 2019 jury Juliette Binoche (L) stands on stage next to Israeli director Nadav Lapid(C) holding his Golden Bear for the best film for "Synonyms" and actor Tom Mercier (R) at the awards ceremony of the 69th Berlinale film festival, February 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

The festival's best actor and best actress awards went to China's Wang Jingchun and Yong Mei, respectively, for their roles as a couple who lose their son in director Wang Xiaoshuai's "So Long, My Son."

The three-hour Chinese family saga spans three decades of history from the 1980s to the present, portraying a society in constant change.

You may also be interested in Chinese family saga 'So Long, My Son' sweeps acting honors at Berlinale.

Actress Yong Mei (L) and actor Wang Jingchun (R), celebrate with director Wang Xiaoshuai, after winning Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor for the "So long, my son" following the awards ceremony of the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival, in Berlin, Germany, February 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

The best director honors went to Germany's Angela Schanelec for her family drama "I Was at Home, But."

The festival's jury grand prize award was won by French director Francois Ozon's "By the Grace of God," a movie about the long-term effects of sexual abuse in the Catholic church.

German director Angela Schanelec poses with the Silver Bear for best director for the film "Ich war zu Hause, aber..." (I was at home, but) after the awards ceremony of the 69th Berlinale film festival, February 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

This year's competition originally comprised 17 films, but famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou's latest feature "One Second" was withdrawn after festival started.

This year's "Berlinale" was the last under Dieter Kosslick, its director of the last 18 years.

Francois Ozon, winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize for "By the Grace of God," poses backstage at the closing ceremony of the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival at Berlinale Palace in Berlin, February 16, 2019. /VCG Photo

Kosslick will be replaced by a team of Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek. Locarno film festival chief Chatrian will become the festival's artistic director and Rissenbeek, a German movie industry official, will be its managing director.

This year's Berlinale runs from February 7 to 17.

(Top Photo: Nadav Lapid, winner of the Golden Bear for Best Film for "Synonyms," attends the award winners press conference during the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Berlin, Germany, February 16, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AP