20,000 Species of Bees

While we can easily accept the existence of more than 20,000 species of bees, human diversity seems difficult for many to accept. Eight-year-old Lucia becomes convinced of this as most relatives refer to her using her birth name, Aitor, clearly against her will. During her holiday in a Basque village, she confronts extremely different attitudes, ranging from her conservative grandmother’s the clear reluctance to the passivity of her lost-in-reality mother. An aunt, who cares for the titular bees and lives in harmony with nature, becomes Lucia’s unexpected ally in persistently defending her own identity. Due to the complete harmony of the relationship between these two characters, 20,000 Species of Bees, although not devoid of bitterness, ultimately turns out to be a comforting film. Perhaps it is the gentle tone, which by no means deprives the story of expressiveness, but allows it to avoid melodramatic cliches, that makes the debut of Estibalizaliz Urresola Solaguren one of the great discoveries of this year's Berlinale. Sofía Otero, who plays Lucia, made waves at the festival as she deservedly won the jury award for the best leading actress.