Paul Greengrass' 'Bloody Sunday' has jointly won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Greengrass told the Irish Times yesterday, "Both Derry and Berlin understand what it means to be a divided city. This award is a recognition that democracy is based on rights and not sovereignty".
Rod Stoneman, CEO of the Irish Film Board, which co-funded the film, gave his reaction to the
announcement, "This is a stunning achievement. The Golden Bear is one of the major European prizes and together with the recent Oscar nominations for the two Irish animated shorts, proves that the strength of Irish cinema is being recognised around the world".
'Bloody Sunday', shot in a vivid, ultra-realistic style, pieces together the tragic and complex events of the afternoon of Sunday 30th January 1972. It has already won the audience award at the Sundance film festival and has been picked up for US distribution by Paramount Classics.
The last Irish film to win the Golden Bear was 'In the Name of the Father' in 1994. Previous winners of this prize include 'Sense and Sensibility, Rain Man and The
Thin Red Line. 'Bloody Sundays's writer/director, Paul Greengrass
collected the award at a ceremony in Berlin last night (Sunday). This year, the Golden Bear has also been awarded to the Japanese animated blockbuster 'Spirited Away'.
AM
