The 27th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June – 5 July 1977. The festival opened with Nickelodeon by Peter Bogdanovich. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet Union film The Ascent directed by Larisa Shepitko. Since this edition, the annual Retrospective and Homage events has been coordinated jointly between the festival organization and the Deutsche Kinemathek. The retrospective shown at the festival was dedicated to German actress Marlene Dietrich, which was divided into two parts, with Part 1 being shown this year along with the retrospective called Love, Death and Technology. Cinema of the Fantastical 1933–1945. The guest of the Homage was West German filmmaker Wilfried Basse.
The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 February to 5 March 1978. Director Wolf Donner successfully managed to shift the festival's date from June to February, a change which has remained ever since. This was the first year the festival was held in February. The festival opened with Opening Night by John Cassavetes and closed with Steven Spielberg's out of competition film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The 29thBerlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February – 3 March 1979. The Golden Bear was awarded to the West German film David directed by Peter Lilienthal.
The 30th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18–29 February 1980. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film Heartland directed by Richard Pearce and West German film Palermo oder Wolfsburg directed by Werner Schroeter.
The 31st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1981. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film Deprisa, Deprisa directed by Carlos Saura. The retrospective was dedicated to British film producer Michael Balcon, as well a tribute to Turkish film director Yılmaz Güney who was a political prisoner at the time. The guest of the Homage was German film director Peter Pewas.
The 32nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12–23 February 1982. The Golden Bear was awarded to the West German film Veronika Voss directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
The 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18 February to 1 March 1983. The festival opened with the out of competition film, Tootsie by Sydney Pollack.
The 34th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 17–28 February 1984. The festival opened with The Noah's Ark Principle by Roland Emmerich. The Golden Bear was awarded to the American film Love Streams directed by John Cassavetes. The retrospective was dedicated to German-American actor, screenwriter, producer and film director Ernst Lubitsch. The Honorary Golden Bear was awarded to American director Jules Dassin and Greek actress Melina Mercouri and the Homage section was dedicated to the couple.
The 35th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1985. The Golden Bear was awarded to East German film Die Frau und der Fremde directed by Rainer Simon and British film Wetherby directed by David Hare. The retrospective was dedicated to Special effects.
The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986. The festival opened with Ginger and Fred by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film Stammheim directed by Reinhard Hauff. The retrospective was in honour of German actress and film producer Henny Porten and the homage was dedicated to American film director Fred Zinnemann. Claude Lanzmann's 9 hour long documentary film Shoah about The Holocaust was screened at the Young Filmmakers Forum.
The 37th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February to 3 March 1987. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet Union film Tema directed by Gleb Panfilov. The retrospective was in honour of Armenian-American film and theatre director Rouben Mamoulian. The homage was dedicated to French couple Jean-Louis Barrault, actor and director, and Madeleine Renaud, actress. It was titled Renaud-Barrault au cinéma.
The 38th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12 to 23 February 1988. The festival opened with musical film Linie 1 by Reinhard Hauff. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Chinese film Red Sorghum directed by Zhang Yimou.
The 40th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 February 1990. The festival opened with Steel Magnolias by Herbert Ross, which was shown out of competition. The Golden Bear was awarded ex aequo to the American film Music Box directed by Costa-Gavras and Czechoslovak film Skřivánci na niti directed by Jiří Menzel. The retrospective of this edition included two programs: The Year 1945, dedicated to international productions released in 1945, and 40 Years Berlinale, dedicated to some of the most significant films presented during the past editions of the festival.
The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with Uranus by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film La casa del sorriso directed by Marco Ferreri. The retrospective dedicated to Cold War films was shown at the festival.
The 42nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1992. The festival opened with The Inner Circle by Andrei Konchalovsky. The Golden Bear was awarded to American film Grand Canyon directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The retrospective dedicated to Babelsberg Studios films was shown at the festival.
The 44th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1994. The Golden Bear was awarded to British-Irish film In the Name of the Father directed by Jim Sheridan. The retrospective dedicated to Austrian director, actor and producer Erich von Stroheim was shown at the festival.
The 46th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1996. The Golden Bear was awarded to British-American film Sense and Sensibility directed by Ang Lee. The retrospective dedicated to American film director, producer and screenwriter William Wyler was shown at the festival.
The 47th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1997. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film The People vs. Larry Flynt directed by Miloš Forman. The retrospective dedicated to Austrian film director G. W. Pabst was shown at the festival.
The 48th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 February 1998. The festival opened with the Irish film The Boxer by Jim Sheridan. Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker was selected as the closing night film. The Golden Bear was awarded to Brazilian-French film Central Station directed by Walter Salles. The retrospective dedicated to Siodmak Bros., titled Siodmak Bros. Berlin – London – Paris – Hollywood was shown at the festival.
The 51st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 7 to 18, 2001. The festival opened with war-drama film Enemy at the Gates by Jean-Jacques Annaud. 70 mm restored version of Stanley Kubrick's 1968 Sci-fi film 2001: A Space Odyssey was the closing film of the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to French-British film Intimacy directed by Patrice Chéreau. The retrospective dedicated to German-Austrian filmmaker, screenwriter Fritz Lang was shown at the festival.
