The Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, is an annual film festival held 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 12th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1962.
The 22nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 23 June to 4 July 1972. The Golden Bear was awarded to The Canterbury Tales directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini.
The 58th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 7 to February 17, 2008. The festival opened with Martin Scorsese's documentary film Shine a Light. Be Kind Rewind by Michel Gondry served as the closing film. Greek filmmaker Costa Gavras, was selected to serve as the Jury President for the main competition.
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 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 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 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with Uranus by Claude Berri.
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 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the president of the jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. American actress Meryl Streep was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear on 14 February. Benoît Jacquot's film Farewell, My Queen was announced as the opening film.
The 45th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 22 February 1995. Israeli film programmer Lia van Leer 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 47th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1997.
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 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.
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 53rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 6–16, 2003. The festival opened with musical film Chicago by Rob Marshall and closed with Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, both films played out of competition at the festival.
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.
