1st LD Writethru: Documentary "Fire at Sea" wins Golden Bear in 66th Berlinale

The Italian documentary film "Fire at Sea" won the Golden Bear, the top jury prize awarded to the best film, in the 66th Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday.

In the documentary film "Fire at Sea", Italian director Gianfranco Rosi captured with camera the daily life of the Italian island of Lampedusa where refugees and islanders live together but in two completely different worlds.

In the past 20 years, large numbers of refugees from North Africa and other places got there by boat, hoping to enter the European continent.

With this documentary film, the audience could see that the Lampedusa island has become a metaphor for the flight of refugees to Europe, and the hopes, hardship and fate of hundreds of thousands of emigrants.

"Fire at Sea" won warm applause and cheers after its press screening just a week ago.

"The film is the testimony of the tragedy occurred in front of us," said Rosi at a press conference, "I think we are all responsible for this tragedy. This may be one of the greatest tragedy the world is experiencing after the Jewish Holocaust."

A film review from The Guardian said: "Italian director Gianfranco Rosi creates an unsentimental documentary about the carnage and despair as Lampedusans struggle to deal with desperate refugees."

"Fire at Sea", as one of the 18 films vying for the Golden Bear, saw its world premier in the 66th Berlinale.

This year, three-time Oscar-winner and American actress Meryl Streep serves as jury president of the seven-member international panel, which decided who received the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards of the 2016 Berlinale competition. Endit