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.”
