Szumowska's 'Body' wins Silver Bear

The award was co-awarded together with Romanian film director Radu Jude with the film "Aferim!".

When picking up the award on Saturday, Szumowska said “I am a director, but also a woman. This is a great combination.”

“Body” has been described as “a darkly comic rumination on what it means to be alive, how humans deal with loss and the question of what comes after,” by US film source Variety in an early review.

The Polish film sees seasoned actor Janusz Gajos in the role of a cynical public prosecutor who is stuck in a dysfunctional relationship with his bulimic daughter (Justyna Suwala) following the death of the teenager's mother.

However, a therapist (Maja Osztaszewska) who also dabbles as a psychic, compels the pair to face some home truths.

“Though Szumowska has constructed 'Body' in such a way that domestic audiences should be reasonably amused, there’s potentially an added value for those who catch it on the festival circuit,” Variety reflected.

This is not Szumowska's first prize at the Berlin Film Festival. In 2013, she won the Teddy award for her film “In the name of...”. The Teddy prize is awarded to films with an LGBT theme.

The main prize at the 65th edition of the festival was won by “Taxi” the latest film by dissident Iranian director Jafar Panahi. He is forbidden to travel outside of his homeland, so the prize was picked up by his niece, Hana Saeidi, who also had a role in the film. (rg)