Jafar Panâhi is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, and film editor, commonly associated with the Iranian New Wave film movement. After several years of making short films and working as an assistant director for fellow Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, Panahi achieved international recognition with his feature film debut, The White Balloon (1995). The film won the Caméra d'Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, the first major award an Iranian film won at Cannes.
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 14th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 26 June to 7 July 1964.
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 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the president of the jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116 countries, including 3900 members of the press.
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 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.
Closed Curtain is a 2013 Iranian docufiction film by Jafar Panahi and Kambuzia Partovi. It premiered at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival on February 12, 2013 where Panahi won the Silver Bear for Best Script. It was shot secretly at Panahi's own beachfront villa on the Caspian Sea. Panahi stated that he began shooting the film in a state of melancholy but managed to recover by the film's completion. Closed Curtain is Panahi's second film since his 20-year ban on filmmaking after 2011's This Is Not a Film.
The 64th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 16 February 2014. Wes Anderson's film The Grand Budapest Hotel opened the festival.
Taxi, also known as Taxi Tehran, is a 2015 Iranian docufiction starring and directed by Jafar Panahi. The film premiered in competition at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Bear and the FIPRESCI Prize. In 2010, Panahi was banned from making films and travelling for 20 years, so his niece Hana Saeidi, who also appears in the film, collected the award on his behalf.
Body is a 2015 Polish drama film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska. It was screened in the main competition section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where Szumowska won the Silver Bear for Best Director. The film also received the Golden Lions Award at the 2015 Gdynia Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the 2016 European Film Awards.
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.
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.
The 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 15 to 25 February 2018. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer served as Jury President.
The 69th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 7 to 17 February 2019. French actress Juliette Binoche served as the Jury President.
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 board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
The 71st annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 1 to 5 March 2021 as a virtual festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 79th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2022. Noah Baumbach's White Noise was the festival's opening film, and Francesco Carrozzini's The Hanging Sun was the closing film.
The 73rd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place from 16 to 26 February 2023. It was the first completely in-person Berlinale since the 70th in 2020. The festival added a new competition section for television series.
The 74th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 15 and 25 February 2024 in Berlin, Germany. Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o was named the Jury President for the main competition. This year's Berlinale was Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek's final edition in charge, following their dismissal in 2023. The festival opened with Tim Mielants' Small Things like These.
