Bloody Sunday, the dramatisation of the day when 14 people were shot dead on January 30th, 1972 by British paratroops during a civil rights march today shared the Berlin Film Festival's top Golden Bear award.
The film, shown on ITV in January and later in cinemas, was directed by Paul Greengrass and was praised by the judges for its "extraordinary authenticity".
It shared the award with Spirited Away, an animated adventure from Japan's Hayao Miyazaki, whose work combined a strong Japanese identity with universal qualities, the 10-member international jury said.
Bloody Sunday, written and directed by Greengrass, was a Granada Film/Hell's Kitchen production financed by Portman Film, Granada, the Film Council (the UK film funding body) and the Irish Film Board.
Presenting Bloody Sundayin Berlin, Greengrass said he hoped the moment by moment dramatisation of the bitterly disputed events would help reconciliation after three decades of conflict.
Moving relentlessly between march organisers, British soldiers and protesters, it focuses on idealistic march leader and MP Ivan Cooper, played by James Nesbitt, and some of those who died.
Drawing from experiences of former members of the British army who served in Northern Ireland as well as Derry civilians, "the idea behind this film was that we would all come together to relive this terrible and traumatic day, tell the truth about it and, in a spirit of reconciliation, move on," Greengrass said.
A lengthy second public inquiry into the events on Bloody Sunday chaired by Lord Saville is currently under way.
AP