The Berlin International Film Festival has announced the members of its juries for this year’s 72nd edition, which includes three Latin American filmmakers.
In a major recognition for the Latin American country, Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz will join jury president M. Night Shyamalan and Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi on the main international jury alongside German director Anne Zohra Berrached, Tunisian-French producer Said Ben Said, Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangaremba, and Danish actress Connie Nielsen.
Winner of multiple international awards for his extensive filmography, Aïnouz’s Central Airport THF (2018), co-produced with Germany and France, took home the Amnesty International Film Prize at the 2018 edition of the Berlin Film Festival. His 2019 film Invisible Life / A Vida Invisível won the Un Certain Regard Award at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival among many other accolades.
The international jury will select winners for the Golden and Silver Bears – the highest recognitions given by the festival – from the eighteen feature films playing in competition, which includes Mexican director Natalia Lopez Gallardo’s debut feature film Robe of Gems in its World Premiere.
The Generation Kplus section for innovative and heartfelt coming-of-age stories will also welcome two notable Latin American members on its three-person jury: Bolivian cinematographer and director Daniela Cajías and Mexican writer and director Samuel Kishi Leopo.
Cajías’ work as a director of photography has been recognized across the international festival circuit, having won Best Cinematography awards for her work on Brazilian director Fabio Meira’s The Two Irenes / As Duas Irenes at the 2017 Guadalajara Film Festival, as well as for her work on Spanish director Pilar Palomero’s film The Girls / Las niñas at the 2021 Gaudí and Goya Awards, respectively. Cajías also earned an honorable mention for the National Grand Prix award for her debut short film Mulher como Árvore, co-directed with Brazilian filmmakers Helder Faria and Flávio Ferreira, at the 2021 edition of New Directors / New Films in New York.
No stranger to the Berlinale, Kishi Leopo’s most recent feature film Los Lobos (2019)took home the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus International Jury for Best Feature Film at the 2020 edition of the festival, alongside the Peace Film Award for films that distinguish themselves through a powerful message of peace and the skilful aesthetic execution of their themes.
The 72nd edition of the Berlinale is set to take place in-person from Thursday, February 10 to Sunday, February 20, 2022.
