NZ films win triple Berlin festival honours

New Zealand films have won triple honours at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival.

Boy, a home-grown feature film written and directed by award-winning Kiwi film-maker Taika Waititi, took out the top award and a €7,500 cash prize for best feature film in the Generation Kplus International Jury category.

Following close on its heels was this year’s dark horse - the low-budget Kiwi film This Way of Life, by independent film-makers Barbara Sumner Burstyn and Tom Burstyn, which won runner-up jury prize in the Generation Kplus Crystal Bear category.

The much-lauded New Zealand short film, Six Dollar Fifty Man, received a special mention. The jury called it a "film that positively bubbles with emotion, anger and ultimately a small boy’s triumph".

All three films are quintessentially Kiwi stories about life in different parts of rural New Zealand, ranging from small towns to remote mountain ranges.

‘Boy’ oh boy
Boy is a comedy-drama shot in Taika Waititi’s childhood home of Waihau Bay - in the remote East Coast region of the North Island - and is a coming-of-age tale about heroes, magic and Michael Jackson. Waititi also has a cameo in the movie as the father.

The film won the international jury prize of the Grand Prix of the Deustche Kinderhilfswerk (a German children’s charity), which is judged by an international expert jury.

After the prize-giving ceremony in Berlin, Waititi said that he was "stoked" with the award.

Waititi is highly regarded at the Berlin festival. His Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night won the Panorama Short Film Award in 2004, and another short Tama Tu received the Special Jury Prize in 2005.

'This Way of Life'
Shot over four years against the isolated Ruahine mountains and Waimarama beach in Hawke’s Bay, This Way of Life follows Peter and Colleen Karena as they raise their six children and 50 horses on the thin edge between freedom and disaster.

Producer Barbara Sumner Burstyn says given that there were nearly 1000 films submitted across the category and only 40 were selected for competition, she’s pleased with being named runner-up for the Crystal Bear, the top award for the Generation category.

"Most films in the category were dramatic feature films, so to win a coveted jury prize with a no-budget, home-made documentary was amazing. Roman Polanski was runner-up in his section too, so we’re in good company."

This Way of Life was also officially selected for the Palm Springs International Festival, which sold out a week before showing, and has screened to sell out houses at both the New Zealand and Vancouver International Film Festivals.

‘Six Dollar Fifty Man’
A small movie with a big heart, Six Dollar Fifty Man is a 15-minute short film that tells the story of a gutsy eight-year-old boy, who retreats into a make-believe world to deal with playground bullying.

The short was given a special mention in the short film awards of the Generation Kplus International Jury section.

The Berlin award is the latest in a string of successes for Six Dollar Fifty Man which was written and directed by Wellingtonians Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, and produced by Wendy Cuthbert.

Six Dollar Fifty Man recently took out the top prize - the Jury Prize in International Short Film-Making - at the 2010 Sundance International Film Festival. It is also on track for a possible Academy Award.

Berlinale Generation award
The Berlin International Film Festival is also known as the Berlinale.
The Genberation award is the Berlinale's platform for the latest national and international productions that speak to children and youth.
The main award in the Generation category is the Crystal Bear, which is given to the best feature-length films and short-films in the Generation Kplus and Generation 14plus competitions.

A special international expert jury award - the Grand Prix of the Deustche Kinderhilfswerk award which was won by Boy - is also given out to the best feature film in the section.