Marco Ferreri was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor, who began his career in the 1950s directing three films in Spain, followed by 24 Italian films before his death in 1997. He is considered one of the greatest European cinematic provocateurs of his time and had a constant presence in prestigious festival circuit - including eight films in competition in Cannes Film Festival and a Golden Bear win in 1991 Berlin Film Festival. Three of his films are among 100 films selected for preservation for significant contribution to Italian cinema.
The 59th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 February to 15 February 2009. The opening film of the festival was Tom Tykwer’s The International, screened out of competition. Costa-Gavras's Eden Is West served as the closing night film at the festival. The festival's jury president was the British actress Tilda Swinton.
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 27th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1977. The festival opened with Nickelodeon by Peter Bogdanovich.
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 30th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18–29 February 1980. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to Heartland, directed by Richard Pearce, and Palermo or Wolfsburg, directed by Werner Schroeter.
The 32nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12–23 February 1982. The Golden Bear was awarded to 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 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 37th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February to 3 March 1987. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet film Tema, directed by Gleb Panfilov.
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 39th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1989.
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 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 43rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 February 1993.
The 44th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1994. British producer Jeremy Thomas was the Jury President for the Main Competition.
The 46th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1996. The Golden Bear was awarded to Sense and Sensibility directed by Ang Lee.
The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with Aimée & Jaguar by Max Färberböck.
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 52nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 6 to 17, 2002. The festival opened with Heaven by Tom Tykwer. The new print of Charlie Chaplin's 1940 American satirical dramedy film The Great Dictator was the closing film of the festival.
