The Spanish Sofía Otero, eight years old, wins the Silver Bear for ‘Best Performance’ at the Berlinale

Spanish actress Sofia Oteroeight years old, has won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the 73rd edition of the Berlinale for 20,000 species of beesfirst film by the Álava director Styliz Urresola.

Otero plays an eight-year-old trans girl who moves with her family from Bayonne (France) to a town in the Spanish Basque Country to visit her maternal family. There she will face the gazes of adults who only recognize her with the name and identity of her child, Aitor.

This is the debut of Otero, who has collected the award in tears at the official awards gala of the international jury, chaired by the actress Kristen Stewart and in which the Spanish one is also found Carla Simon. “Thanks to the jury for granting me this very special prize for me,” said the interpreter, who thanked the film team and her family for the award.

The moment when Kristen Stewart gives the Silver Bear for best performance to Sofía Otero for her role in ‘20,000 species of bees’, the film by Estíbaliz Urresola

It has been beautiful and exciting ????

Spanish cinema returns again with an award from the #Berlinale2023 pic.twitter.com/8eecTTzZVT

— The cinema in the SER (@ElCineEnLaSER) February 25, 2023

The film’s director explained, in an interview with Europa Pressthat the history of 20,000 species of bees arose from an event that shocked society, especially the Basque Country, since a trans child took his own life in 2018. “I did not want to tell his story but I did cling to a letter he left written, where he evoked with I am very hopeful that his decision would lead us to a horizon where those who came after him would have fewer disputes than he did,” said Urresola, who has competed with this film in the Official Section of the festival.

The Golden Bear of the competition has been for the documentary on the adamantby Frenchman Nicolas Philibert, while the Silver Bear went to Afireby German Christian Petzold, who has dedicated his award to the filmmaker Carlos Saura. On the other hand, Spanish cinema has also been recognized at the Berlinale with the Special Jury Prize in the Encounters section. Paul B. Preciado and Lois Patiño share the award for their proposals Orlando, my political biography y Samsararespectively.