Otero held back tears, telling reporters that she was “very happy” to have won.
Berlin:
Eight-year-old Spanish girl Sofia Otero won the best actress award at the Berlin Film Festival on Saturday for her role in “20,000 Species of Bees”.
In the feature debut by Spanish director Estíbaliz Uresola Solaguern, Otero plays a nine-year-old child who was born as a boy, but who believes herself to be a girl.
While collecting the award, Otero held back tears, later telling reporters that she was “overjoyed” to win.
She said, I want to dedicate my life to acting.
Director Ursola Solagurén said that it was important for her to choose a girl to play the role and not a boy.
“It’s easy for her. She’s a really intelligent girl,” he said.
Issues of gender and identity were prominent in many of the films honored at the festival on Saturday.
The Best Supporting Performance award went to Austrian transgender actress Thea Ehre for “Till the End of the Night”.
The film, by German filmmaker Christoph Hochiusler, follows a love story between a gay police officer and a transgender man against the backdrop of an investigation into a drug dealer.
After collecting the award, Ehre had a special message for his parents.
“Thank you for supporting me, for always (giving) me the space I wanted.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
featured video of the day
After the order of the court, the election of the main committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been stopped.