The eight-year-old Spanish actress Sofía Otero has won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance in the 73rd edition of the Berlinale for ‘20,000 species of bees’, the first film by the Álava director Estíbaliz Urresola.

Otero plays an eight-year-old trans girl who moves with her family from Bayonne (France) to a town in the Spanish Basque Country to visit her maternal family. There she will face the gazes of adults who only recognize her with the name and identity of her child, Aitor.

This is the debut of Otero, who has collected the award in tears at the official awards gala of the international jury, chaired by actress Kristen Stewart and in which the Spanish Carla Simón is also found. “Thanks to the jury for granting me this very special prize for me,” said the interpreter, who thanked the film team and her family for the award.

The director of the film explained that the story of ‘20,000 species of bees’ arose from an event that shocked society, especially the Basque Country, since a trans child took his own life in 2018.

“I have not wanted to tell his story but yes I clung to a letter that he left writtenwhere he evoked with great hope that this decision of his would take us to a horizon where those who came after him would have fewer disputes than he had,” said Urresola, who has competed with this film in the Official Section of the festival.

The Golden Bear of the competition has been for the documentary ‘Sur l’adamant’, by the French Nicolas Philibertwhile the Silver Bear went to ‘Afire’, by German Christian Petzold, who dedicated his award to filmmaker Carlos Saura.

On the other hand, Spanish cinema has also been recognized at the Berlinale with the Special Jury Prize in the Encounters section. Paul B. Preciado and Lois Patiño share the award for their proposals’Orlando, my political biography‘ and ‘Samsara’, respectively. of the international jury, chaired by the American actress Kristen Stewart.