About the Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), commonly known as the Berlinale, was founded in 1951 in West Berlin during the Cold War era. It is one of the “Big Three” European festivals alongside Cannes and Venice.
The Golden Bear (Goldener Bär) is the festival’s top prize, awarded by an international jury each February. The Berlinale is considered the most politically engaged of the major festivals, with a history of championing socially conscious and humanist storytelling from around the world.
Supporting prizes include the Silver Bear for Grand Jury Prize, Best Direction, Best Leading Performance, and Best Supporting Performance. From the 71st edition (2021), the festival moved to gender-neutral performance awards, replacing the separate Best Actor and Best Actress categories.
| Year | Golden Bear | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The Thin Red Line | Terrence Malick |
| 1998 | Central Station | Walter Salles |
| 1997 | The People vs. Larry Flynt | Miloš Forman |
| 1996 | Sense and Sensibility | Ang Lee |
| 1995 | The Bait | Bertrand Tavernier |
| 1994 | In the Name of the Father | Jim Sheridan |
| 1993 | The Women from the Lake of Scented Souls & The Wedding Banquet (shared) | Xie Fei & Ang Lee |
| 1992 | Grand Canyon | Lawrence Kasdan |
| 1991 | House of Smiles | Marco Ferreri |
| 1990 | Music Box & Larks on a String (shared) | Costa-Gavras & Jiří Menzel |
| Year | Golden Bear | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Rain Man | Barry Levinson |
| 1988 | Red Sorghum | Zhang Yimou |
| 1987 | The Theme | Gleb Panfilov |
| 1986 | Stammheim | Reinhard Hauff |
| 1985 | Wetherby & Die Frau und der Fremde (shared) | David Hare & Rainer Simon |
| 1984 | Love Streams | John Cassavetes |
| 1983 | Ascendancy & The Beehive (shared) | Edward Bennett & Mario Camus |
| 1982 | Veronika Voss | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
| 1981 | Deprisa, Deprisa | Carlos Saura |
| 1980 | Heartland & Palermo or Wolfsburg (shared) | Pearce & Schroeter |
| Year | Golden Bear | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | David | Peter Lilienthal |
| 1978 | Las truchas | José Luis García Sánchez |
| 1977 | Ascent | Larisa Shepitko |
| 1976 | Buffalo Bill and the Indians | Robert Altman |
| 1975 | Adoption | Márta Mészáros |
| 1974 | The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | Ted Kotcheff |
| 1973 | Distant Thunder | Satyajit Ray |
| 1972 | The Canterbury Tales | Pier Paolo Pasolini |
| 1971 | The Garden of the Finzi-Continis | Vittorio De Sica |
| 1970 | No award | — |