Sunshine, which was written and directed by Antoinette Jadaone and headlined Maris Racal, won the Crystal Bear at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
Photo: Maris Racal/Instagram
On February 21, Berlinale announced that the film won the prestigious Crystal Bear for Best Film in the Generation 14plus section at the international film festival. This award is honored for outstanding storytelling about the coming-of-age stories and perspectives of the youth.
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“The Crystal Bears of the Generation 14plus Youth Jury and Prizes of the Generation International Jury, endowed by the Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education), have been presented in Generation 14plus,” Berlinale wrote on Instagram.
It added: “The members of the Generation 14plus Youth Jury – Nour Ibrahim, Zeynep Atay, Tyler Kurokhtin, Jil Baalmann, Rohan Yadav – have awarded the following prizes.”
Moreover, the Berlinale jury praised the film on its website for taking a “sensitive view on its modern and socially critical topic and its strong message.”
“It touched us not only through the acting performances, but also with its dark, yet hopeful and empowering atmosphere, which the filmmakers created with their way of storytelling. It raises our awareness by confronting us with the reality of the social and political problems it addresses, which unfortunately still exist today,” it wrote.
“Whether or not viewers can directly identify with the issues it tackles, we believe this film will leave a lasting impact.”
Sunshine follows the story of a young gymnast who suddenly discovers she is pregnant on the week of the national team tryouts. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The sports drama film was also a part of the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Additionally, it received a nomination for Best Youth Film at the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Aside from Maris, the movie includes Elijah Canlas, Meryll Soriano, Xyriel Manabat, Annika Co, and Jennica Garcia.
ALSO READ: Maris Racal Gets Emotional Watching the Trailer for Her Film “Sunshine”
