Plants / Las plantas, the debut feature film by Chilean filmmaker Roberto Doveris (pictured left; photo credit: CinemaChile) was the winner of two prizes at the Berlin Film Festival, it was announced today. The film was the winner of the Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury for the Best Film, endowed with €7,500.

"We were strongly pulled towards a movie that sank into our subconscious. The director managed in a profound and extremely cinematic way to convey the sexual awakening of a young woman against a background of family under duress. The central performance is at once strikingly brave and also wonderfully vulnerable. The whole film announces a filmmaker not afraid of extending the boundaries of cinematic language and storytelling. This film is an unforgettable sui generis," said the jury in a statement."

The film received also a Special Jury Mention from the Youth Jury in the competition Generation 14plus. Las plantas (pictured right) follows 17-year-old Florencia who has to look after her brother -trapped in a persistent vegetative state- for a whole summer. She washes him, changes his nappies, and cuddles up to him in bed. From time to time she reads to him from a comic called Las Plantas, which is about plant souls that take control of human bodies at full moon. At night, Florencia makes contact with men on the internet. Images of her monotonous daily routine and a vibrant fantasy world merge to create a fascinating tale of a young woman as she self-determines her own sexual awakening.