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Berlin film festival top prize for coming-of-age drama, best director for China’s Huo Meng

Dreams (Sex Love) by Norway’s Dag Johan Haugerud awarded Golden Bear, while Living the Land earns China’s Huo Meng director prize in Berlin

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Norwegian director and screenwriter Dag Johan Haugerud  holds his Golden Bear award for best film for Dreams (Sex Love) on the red carpet at the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival. Photo: dpa

Dreams (Sex Love), a tender coming-of-age drama about a young woman’s first crush on a teacher and the art of writing won the Golden Bear top prize at the 75th Berlin Film Festival.

The grand jury Silver Bear prize was awarded to Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro’s film The Blue Trail, a dystopian story set in the Amazon about an elderly woman who chooses to reject living the rest of her life in a senior housing colony.

Chinese director Huo Meng won best director for Living the Land, his feature about four generations of farmers.

The Golden Bear-winning film by Dag Johan Haugerud, starring Ella Overbye, is the last in a three-part series by the Norwegian director exploring emotional and physical intimacy.

Chinese film director Huo Meng waves to the audience as he leaves the stage after being awarded the Silver Bear for best director for his film Living the Land in Berlin. Photo: AFP
Chinese film director Huo Meng waves to the audience as he leaves the stage after being awarded the Silver Bear for best director for his film Living the Land in Berlin. Photo: AFP

The jury president, American director Todd Haynes, praised the film’s flawless performances and clear-sighted observations about desire, and how it portrayed the act of writing.

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