The 56th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2006. The festival opened with Snow Cake by Marc Evans. Digitally restored version of Sam Peckinpah's 1972 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid served as the closing film. British actress Charlotte Rampling was selected as the head of the jury. The Golden Bear was awarded to Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams directed by Jasmila Žbanić.
The Silver Bear for Best Director is an award presented annually at the Berlin International Film Festival since 1956. It is given for the best achievement in directing and is chosen by the International Jury from the films in the Competition slate at the festival.
The Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europe's "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival held in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival held in France. Furthermore, it is one of the "Big Five", the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The Golden Bear is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
The 4th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18 to 29 June 1954. This year's festival did not give any official jury prizes, instead awards were given by audience voting. This continued until the FIAPF granted Berlin "A-Status" in 1956. David Lean won the Golden Bear by the audience voting for his film Hobson's Choice at the festival.
The 5th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1955. This year's festival did not give any official jury prizes, instead awards were given by audience voting. This continued until the FIAPF granted Berlin "A-Status" in 1956. The Golden Bear was awarded to Die Ratten by audience vote.
The 6th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1956. The FIAPF granted the festival the "A status" during this year, which was previously only reserved for Cannes and Venice. The awards for the first time, were given by an international jury.
The 7th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1957. The International Federation of Film Critics awarded FIPRESCI Award for the first time this year. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film 12 Angry Men directed by Sidney Lumet.
The 8th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 27 June to 8 July 1958 with the Zoo Palast as the main venue. The festival was opened by then West Berlin's newly elected mayor Willy Brandt. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Swedish film Smultronstället directed by Ingmar Bergman.
The 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June – 7 July 1959. The festival welcomed the cinematic movement known as the New Wave and screened the work of directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda and François Truffaut. The Golden Bear was awarded to the French film Les Cousins directed by Claude Chabrol.
The 12th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June – 3 July 1962. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film A Kind of Loving directed by John Schlesinger.
The 26th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June – 6 July 1976. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson directed by Robert Altman.
The 63rd annual Berlin International Film Festival took place in Berlin, Germany, between 7 and 17 February 2013. Chinese film director Wong Kar-wai was announced as the President of the Jury and his film The Grandmaster was the opening film of the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Romanian film Child's Pose directed by Călin Peter Netzer, which also served as the closing film.
The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the President of the Jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The first seven films of the festival were announced on 15 December 2014. Isabel Coixet's Nobody Wants the Night was announced as the opening film.
The 66th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 21 February 2016, with American actress Meryl Streep as the President of the Jury. The Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement was presented to German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus. Hail, Caesar!, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, was selected to open the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian documentary Fire at Sea, directed by Gianfranco Rosi, which also serves as closing night film.
The 67th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 18 February 2017 with Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven as President of the Jury. Django, directed by Etienne Comar, opened the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Hungarian film On Body and Soul directed by Ildikó Enyedi, which also served as closing film of the festival.
The 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 15 to 25 February 2018. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer served as Jury President. American film director Wes Anderson's animated film Isle of Dogs opened the festival, becoming first animated film to open the fest. The Romanian film Touch Me Not directed by Adina Pintilie won the Golden Bear, which also served as the closing night film.
The 69th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 7 to 17 February 2019. French actress Juliette Binoche served as the Jury President. Lone Scherfig's drama film The Kindness of Strangers opened the festival. The Golden Bear was won by Israeli-French drama Synonyms directed by Nadav Lapid, which also served as the closing film of the festival.
The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival heads, business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian. The festival opened with the opening gala presented by actor Samuel Finzi followed by the world premiere of the film My Salinger Year which was selected for the Berlinale Special section. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Iranian film There Is No Evil, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof.
The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021 the first film of the festival was announced. The festival opened with François Ozon's drama film Peter von Kant. Isabelle Huppert was awarded Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement on 15 February 2022 at the Berlinale Palast award ceremony. Her film by Laurent Larivière, À propos de Joan was also screened.
