‘Dreams (Sex Love)’ Wins the Berlin Film Festival, While ‘The Blue Trail’ Earns Grand Jury Prize – Variety

By

Peter Debruge
Chief Film Critic
The 75th anniversary edition of the Berlin Film Festival — and the first under the leadership of its new chief, Tricia Tuttle — drew to a close Saturday night, as the jury awarded the Golden Bear to Dag Johan Haugerud’s “Dreams (Sex Love).”
There’s a special poetry in giving this film — the portrait of a teenage girl with a passionate imagination who pours her intense feelings toward a teacher into a transformative personal essay — the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival. The film represents the third installment in the Norwegian writer-director’s “Dream Sex Love” trilogy. The first, “Sex,” premiered a year earlier in the Panorama section of the 2024 Berlin Film Fest, while “Love” debuted in competition at Venice late last summer.

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“The film is called ‘Drømmer’ — it’s Norwegian for ‘dreams’ — and this was beyond my wildest dreams really,” said Haugerud, in accepting the prize from jury president Todd Haynes. “I will just say: Write more and read more. It expands your mind. It’s very good for you.”

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The Grand Jury Prize — which is essentially second place in a field of 19 films — went to Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro’s “The Blue Trail,” which challenges the way society treats its eldest citizens. Surprisingly optimistic as dystopian films go, the film imagines a future where those older than 75 are rounded up and sent to live in what sounds like a huge concentration camp. Audiences never actually see “the Colony,” however, since Mascaro’s protagonist escapes the convoy and ventures out on a path of her own choosing instead.
The Jury Prize went to another South American film, “The Message,” from Argentine director Iván Fund, while Chinese filmmaker Huo Meng earned the Best Director award for “Living the Land.” Whereas “Dreams (Sex Love)” and “The Blue Trail” were widely beloved by critics and festival goers, those two choices came as more of a surprise.
Rose Byrne won leading performance honors for her tour-de-force role in Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You.” In a film that swirls like a tornado around Byrne’s performance, the Australian actor plays an overwhelmed mother juggling her work as a therapist and the demands of raising a special needs child.

Andrew Scott won the supporting performance prize for playing Broadway composer Richard Rodgers in “Blue Moon,” director Richard Linklater’s look at a turning point in Rodgers’ career, when he switched partners from Lorenz Hart (the film’s lead character, played by Ethan Hawke) to Oscar Hammerstein. It’s a tricky role, as Scott’s character tries to protect his old friend’s feelings at the same moment he should be popping the cork on a new chapter of his career. Scott, who could not attend the ceremony, sent a video message, in which he fondly recalled being named one of European Film Promotion’s Shooting Stars at the fest five years earlier.
Four years ago, Romanian director Radu Jude won the Golden Bear for “Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn.” At this year’s festival, he accepted the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay for his political satire “Kontinental ’25,” telling the crowd, “Well, I am a bad screenwriter, so that’s really a very funny award to get,” he told the crowd, encouraging the industry to fight against rising budgets, before adding a political statement of his own: “I hope that the International Criminal Court in Hague will pursue its job against all these murderous bastards. And since you have tomorrow the elections here [in Germany], I just hope next year’s Berlinale doesn’t open with ‘Triumph of the Will’ by Leni Riefenstahl.”
Among the innovations under Tuttle was the addition of the new Perspectives section, which replaced Encounters and focused entirely on new directors’ first features. Latin America did well again in this category, as the Perspectives jury selected Mexican filmmaker Ernesto Martínez Bucio’s “The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)” as the all-around-strong section’s best debut.
Other notable winners include the documentary award going to Brandon Kramer’s “Holding Liat,” a Darren Aronofsky-produced look at how an Israeli family reacts to their son being taken hostage on Oct. 7, and the Teddy Award (for best queer feature) going not to lesbian love story “Dream (Sex Love)” but an Australian animated film called “Lesbian Space Princess.”
Full list of winners:
COMPETITION
Golden Bear for Best Film: “Dreams (Sex Love)”

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: “The Blue Trail”
Silver Bear Jury Prize: “The Message”
Silver Bear for Best Director: Huo Meng, “Living the Land”
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance: Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You”
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Andrew Scott, “Blue Moon”
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: “Kontinental ’25,” Radu Jude
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: The creative ensemble of “The Ice Tower,” Lucile Hadžihalilović
BERLINALE DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Best Documentary: “Holding Liat,” Brandon Kramer
PERSPECTIVES JURY
GWFF Best First Feature: “The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box),” Ernesto Martínez Bucio
BERLINALE SHORTS
Golden Bear: “Lloyd Wong, Unfinished,” Lesley Loksi Chan
Silver Bear: “Ordinary Life,” Yoriko Mizushiri
Awards previously announced:
PANORAMA AWARDS
Panorama Audience Award: “Sorda,” Eva LibertadSecond Prize: “Lesbian Space Princess,” Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela VargheseThird Prize: “Home Sweet Home,” Frelle Petersen
Panorama Documentary Audience Award: “Die Möllner Briefe,” Martina PriessnerSecond Prize: “Yalla Parkour Sweden,” Areeb ZuaiterThird Prize: “Khartoum,” Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil Cox
GENERATION AWARDS
Generation International Jury
Grand Prix for Best Film in Generation 14plus: “Christy,” Brendan CantySpecial Mention: “Têtes Brûlées,” Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama
Special Prize for Best Short Film in Generation 14plus: “Don’t Wake the Sleeping Child,” Kevin Aubert
A Bird Flew,” Leinad Pájaro De la HozSpecial Mention: “Beneath Which Rivers Flow,” Ali Yahya
Grand Prix for Best Film in Generation Kplus: “The Botanist,” Jing YiSpecial Mention: “Seaside Serendipity,” Satoko Yokohama
Special Prize for Best Short Film in Generation Kplus: “Autokar,” Sylwia SzkiłądźSpecial Mention: “Akababuru: Expression of Astonishment,“ Irati Dojura Landa Yagarí
Youth Jury Generation 14plus
Crystal Bear for Best Film: “Sunshine,” Antoinette JadaoneSpecial Mention: ”Playtime,” Lucia Murat

Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: “Wish You Were Ear,” Mirjana BaloghSpecial Mention: “Sunset Over America,” Matías Rojas Valencia
Children’s Jury Generation Kplus
Crystal Bear for Best Film: “Maya, Give Me a Title,” Michel GondrySpecial Mention: “Circusboy,” Julia Lemke
Crystal Bear for Best Short Film: “Little Rebels Cinema Club,” Khozy RizalSpecial Mention: “Down in the Dumps,” Vera van Wolferen
INDEPENDENT JURY PRIZES
Ecumenical Jury PrizesCompetition: “The Blue Trail,” Gabriel MascaroPanorama: “The Heart Is a Muscle,” Imran HamdulayForum: “Holding Liat,” Brandon Kramer
FIPRESCI Jury PrizesCompetition: “Dreams (Sex Love),” Dag Johan HaugerudEncounters: “Little Trouble Girls,” Urška DjukićPanorama: “Under the Flags, the Sun,” Juanjo PereiraForum: “The Memory of Butterflies,” Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski
Teddy AwardsBest Feature Film: “Lesbian Space Princess,” Leela Varghese, Emma Hough HobbsBest Documentary/Essay Film: “Satanic Sow,” Rosa von PraunheimBest Short Film: “Lloyd Wong,” Lesley Loksi ChanJury Award: “If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile,” Marie Luise LehnerSpecial Teddy Award: Todd Haynes
CICAE Art Cinema AwardPanorama: “Deaf” (Sorda), Eva LibertadForum: “If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart Into Your Mouth and Smile,” Marie Luise Lehner
Guild Film Prize: “Dying,” Matthias Glasner
Label Europa Cinemas: “Hysteria by Mehmet,” Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
Caligari Film Prize: “Fwends,” Sophie Somerville
Peace Film Prize: “Khartoum,” Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil CoxSpecial Mention: “Queer as Punk,” Yihwen Chen
Amnesty International Film Award: “The Moelln Letters,” Martina PriessnerSpecial Mention: “Khartoum,” Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M Ahmed, Phil Cox
Heiner Carow Prize: “Palliative Care Unit,” Philipp Döring
AG-Kino Gilde Cinema Vision 14Plus: “Paternal Leave,” Alissa JungSpecial Mention: “Têtes brûlées,” Maja-Ajmia Yde Zellama
OTHER PRIZES
Berliner Morgenpost Readers’ Jury Award: “The Blue Trail,” Gabriel Mascaro

Tagesspiegel Readers’ Jury Award: “The Swan Song of Fedor Ozerov,” Yuri Semashko
DEVELOPMENT AWARDS
Artekino International Award: “Dreamgirl,” Kaan Müjdeci, produced byTato Film & Asteros Film
Eurimages Co-Production Development Award: “Ibicaba – Visions of Paradise,” Andrea Štaka
VFF Talent Highlight Award: “March 14th,” Alberto Gross Molo
Gen Z Audience Award: “30 Days of Summer,” Anastasiia Solonevych
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Source: https://variety.com/2025/film/awards/berlin-film-festival-awards-2025-winners-1236316181/