- Title: GERMANY: "CENTRAL DO BRASIL" WINS THE BERLIN FILM FESTIVALS' GOLDEN BEAR AWARD
- Date: 20th February 1998
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (FEBRUARY 22, 1998) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) EXTERIOR INTERCONTINENTAL HOTEL VARIOUS OF WAITING JOURNALISTS HEAD OF JURY BEN KINGSLEY ARRIVES JOURNALISTS "CENTRAL DO BRASIL" DIRECTOR WALTER SALLES ARRIVING
- Embargoed: 7th March 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Reuters ID: LVA1LVN057N0IBFHYA17CAWER7WC
- Story Text: - "Central do Brasil", a low-budget road movie about a Brazilian boy searching for his father, won the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear award on Sunday (February 22).
Robert De Niro was also in the German capital at the weekend to represent his latest film "Wag the Dog".It was his first public appearance since being arrested in Paris on February 10.
The audience roared when British actor Ben Kingsley, leader of the 11-member jury, announced the winner of the Golden Bear, the top accolade to be awarded at the festival.
"Central do Brasil", which means "Central Station", had been picked as an early favourite for its sensitive portrayal of a relationship between an abandoned boy and the woman, played by Fernanda Montenegro, who takes him into her care.
The film's director Walter Salles, delighted with the award said he saw the film, which cost just 2.9 million U.S.
dollars to make, as a metaphor for compassion he hoped was growing in Brazilian society.
Fernanda Montenegro, the female lead of "Central do Brasil", won the Silver Bear award for best actress.
American actor Samuel L.Jackson won the Silver Bear for his performance as an arms dealer in Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown".
"Wag the Dog", a timely political satire about a U.S.
president who stages a war to divert attention from a sex scandal, won a Silver Bear for the special jury prize.
Neil Jordan won the Silver Bear for best director for his latest film, "The Butcher Boy".
A total of 25 films competed for the top awards during a festival that showed some 300 productions ranging from Hollywood majors to esoteric short films and independent pictures.
The Berlinale, as the event is known, ranks just below the Cannes Film Festival in May in terms of prestige in the industry.
A Golden Bear award from the event traditionally guarantees the winner a powerful launch in European cinemas and to become the focus of media attention.
Hollywood film star Robert DeNiro has described his recent arrest by French police as an "awful experience", and accused the judge who ordered him to be detained of carrying out a "witchhunt." De Niro was speaking to reporters on Saturday (February 20) at the premiere of his latest film "Wag the Dog" at the Berlin Film Festival.
De Niro revealed that he was seized in Paris on February 10th, by "seven or eight" French police.They burst into his hotel room and arrested him for allegedly being involved in a prostitution ring aimed at wealthy Middle East clients.
De Niro explained that even the police, who interrogated him for nine hours, were embarrassed by their own behaviour, and he was later released without any charges.
"Wag The Dog" finished months before the Clinton scandal broke, tells the story of a U.S.president, days before an election, facing accusations that he had sex with a teenage girl. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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