France's Claire Denis wins best director at Berlin film festival for 'Both Sides of the Blade'

BERLIN: France's Claire Denis won best director at the 72nd Berlin film festival on Wednesday for "Both Sides of the Blade", starring Juliette Binoche as a woman torn between two lovers in pandemic-era Paris.

Denis, 75, was one of seven women in competition at the festival, which ranks with Cannes and Venice among Europe's top cinema showcases.

Meanwhile, Spanish director Carla Simon's semi-autobiographical drama "Alcarras" about a family of peach farmers fighting for their future won the Berlin film festival's Golden Bear top prize on Wednesday.


Simon, 36, dedicated the prize to her family, saying that "without them and my closeness to this world I wouldn't have been able to tell this story".

The Berlinale is now the third major European film festival in a row to award its top prize to a woman director, following Cannes and Venice last year.