The winners of the inaugural Gold Rush Pictures Berlinale Talents Lab Awards have been unveiled, with projects from emerging filmmakers Marcel Beltrán, Subarna Dash, and Aliaksei Paluyan being picked by a jury from a pool of 18 submissions.
Each winner receives a grant of €5,000 ($5,820), as well as support for their stay at the Cannes Film Festival, which is currently underway.
The awards are organized by international independent production company and financier Gold Rush Pictures (GRP) in partnership with Berlinale Talents, the Berlin International Film Festival’s filmmaker development program.
The awards were judged by a jury appointed by GRP, composed of British screenwriter and director Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Hot Milk, She Said), Austrian-German auteur and producer Feo Aladag (When We Leave, Inbetween Worlds) and German director and producer Tom Tykwer (The Light, Run Lola Run). The awards will be presented at the Berlinale Talents Rendezvous, which unites more than 100 alumni of the program for a special event hosted by ARTE and Berlinale Talents.
“The awards mark the growing collaboration between GRP and Berlinale Talents, with GRP also becoming a co-partner of Berlinale Talents as of 2027 and 2028, marking the first time that an independent production company has supported the Berlinale Talents Lab as a co-partner,” the partners said.
“We partnered with Berlinale Talents because they are a vital engine for artistic discovery – and we’re very proud to share our first three awardees under this grant. Marcel, Subarna, and Aliaksei are all exceptionally talented, each bringing a distinctive voice and projects brimming with potential – and it’s a privilege to support their films as they come to fruition, and to welcome them to Cannes this year,” said Vladimir Zemtsov, founder of Gold Rush Pictures.
The jury of the inaugural honors said: “The Gold Rush Pictures Berlinale Talents Lab Awards celebrate projects where a distinctive artistic voice meets true urgency. From a strong and diverse field of 18, the jury selected three that combine bold vision with emotional precision and a clear sense of authorship. These are films that transform personal stories into resonant cinematic experiences.”
Here is more detail from the jury on the winners.
Vicissitudes of Light (director Marcel Beltrán)
“A gripping and highly original archival documentary by Marcel Beltrán that interrogates the power of images and the fragility of authorship. Through an approach that allows a silenced artistic voice to reemerge, it moves between memory, erasure, and reconstruction, exploring the moment when image-making itself becomes a threat, and when the system an artist helped shape turns against its creator. With striking contemporary relevance, the project speaks directly to our present moment of contested images and controlled narratives. Rich in wonder and mystery, it raises profound questions about society, art, and legacy, and promises a film of both intellectual and emotional depth and lasting impact.”
Incubator (director Aliaksei Paluyan)
“A striking and deeply human portrait by Aliaksei Paluyan of a woman pushed to the edge by political and economic realities beyond her control. As politics and love converge, the film traces a journey marked by resilience, heartbreak, and the impossible choices forced upon women in extremis. Its authenticity and urgency struck us. It promises to be both intimately intense, whilst epic and universal in its subject matter. Incubator is profoundly resonant and has the potential to translate lived experience into powerful cinema.”
In Heat, on Loop (director Subarna Dash)
“A bold and exhilarating animated project by Subarna Dash that leaps off the page and announces a singular cinematic voice. It unfolds as an outrageously exciting mix of genre, style, and self-exploration. With its striking originality, emotional depth, passion and inventive visual language, it promises a film that is both surprising and deeply personal. Infused with amazing colors and sensuality, it is a startling, muscular and beautiful vision we are keen to see fully realized on screen.”
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