| Golden Bear | |
|---|---|
| Goldener Bär (German) | |
 | |
| Location | Berlin |
| Country | Germany |
| Presented by | Berlin International Film Festival |
| First awarded | 1951 |
| Last awarded | 2023 |
| Winner | On the Adamant by Nicolas Philibert |
| Website | www |
The Golden Bear (German : Goldener Bär) 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 winners of the first Berlin International Film Festival in 1951 were determined by a West German panel, with five winners of the Golden Bear, divided by categories and genres. [1]
Between 1952 and 1955, the winners of the Golden Bear were determined by the audience members. [2]
In 1956, the Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films formally accredited the festival, and since then, the Golden Bear has been awarded by an international jury. [2]
The statuette shows a bear standing on its hind legs and is based on the 1932 design by German sculptor Renée Sintenis of Berlin's heraldic mascot that later became the symbol of the festival. It has been manufactured since either the first [3] or third [4] edition by art foundry Hermann Noack. [5]
It original award was redesigned in a larger version in 1960, [6] with the left arm of the bear was raised as opposed to the right in the former model. [7]
As of 2010 [update] the bear is 20 cm (7.9 in) high and is fixed onto a base where the winning name is engraved. [8] The figurine consists of a bronze core, which is then plated with a layer of gold. The total weight of the award is 4 kg (8.8 lb). [9]
| Year | English Title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951: West German Jury Vote | ||||
| 1951 (1st) | Four in a Jeep (Drama) | Die Vier im Jeep | Leopold Lindtberg | Switzerland |
| Without Leaving an Address (Comedy) | ...Sans laisser d'adresse | Jean-Paul Le Chanois | France | |
| In Beaver Valley (Documentary) | James Algar | United States | ||
| Justice Is Done (Thriller & Adventure) | Justice est faite | André Cayatte | France | |
| Cinderella (Music Film) | Wilfred Jackson | United States | ||
| 1952–1955: Audience Vote | ||||
| 1952 (2nd) | One Summer of Happiness | Hon dansade en sommar | Arne Mattsson | Sweden |
| 1953 (3rd) | The Wages of Fear | Le salaire de la peur | Henri-Georges Clouzot | France, Italy |
| 1954 (4th) | Hobson's Choice | David Lean | United Kingdom | |
| 1955 (5th) | Die Ratten | Robert Siodmak | West Germany | |
| 1956–present: International Jury | ||||
| 1956 (6th) | Invitation to the Dance | Gene Kelly | United States | |
| 1957 (7th) | 12 Angry Men | Sidney Lumet | ||
| 1958 (8th) | Wild Strawberries | Smultronstället | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden |
| 1959 (9th) | Les Cousins | Claude Chabrol | France | |
| 1960s | ||||
| 1960 (10th) | El Lazarillo de Tormes | César Fernández Ardavín | Spain | |
| 1961 (11th) | La Notte | Michelangelo Antonioni | Italy | |
| 1962 (12th) | A Kind of Loving | John Schlesinger | United Kingdom | |
| 1963 (13th) | Bushido, Samurai Saga | 武士道残酷物語 | Tadashi Imai | Japan |
| To Bed or Not to Bed | Il diavolo | Gian Luigi Polidoro | Italy | |
| 1964 (14th) | Dry Summer | Susuz yaz | Metin Erksan | Turkey |
| 1965 (15th) | Alphaville | Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution | Jean-Luc Godard | France, Italy |
| 1966 (16th) | Cul-de-Sac | Roman Polanski | United Kingdom | |
| 1967 (17th) | The Departure | Le départ | Jerzy Skolimowski | Belgium |
| 1968 (18th) | Who Saw Him Die? | Ole dole doff | Jan Troell | Sweden |
| 1969 (19th) | Early Works | Rani radovi | Želimir Žilnik | Yugoslavia |
| 1970s | ||||
| 1970 (20th) | No awards given because of the controversy surrounding Michael Verhoeven's anti-war film o.k. , which led to the resignation of the international jury before the end of the festival. [10] | |||
| 1971 (21st) | The Garden of the Finzi-Continis | Il giardino dei Finzi Contini | Vittorio De Sica | West Germany, Italy |
| 1972 (22nd) | The Canterbury Tales | I racconti di Canterbury | Pier Paolo Pasolini | Italy |
| 1973 (23rd) | Distant Thunder | অশনি সংকেত | Satyajit Ray | India |
| 1974 (24th) | The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | Ted Kotcheff | Canada | |
| 1975 (25th) | Adoption | Örökbefogadás | Márta Mészáros | Hungary |
| 1976 (26th) | Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson | Robert Altman | United States | |
| 1977 (27th) | The Ascent | Восхождение | Larisa Shepitko | Soviet Union |
| 1978 (28th) | Ascensor | Tomás Muñoz | Spain | |
| Las truchas | José Luis García Sánchez | |||
| What Max Said | Las palabras de Max | Emilio Martínez-Lázaro | ||
| 1979 (29th) | David | Peter Lilienthal | West Germany | |
| 1980s | ||||
| 1980 (30th) | Heartland | Richard Pearce | United States | |
| Palermo or Wolfsburg | Palermo oder Wolfsburg | Werner Schroeter | West Germany | |
| 1981 (31st) | Deprisa, deprisa | Carlos Saura | Spain | |
| 1982 (32nd) | Veronika Voss | Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany |
| 1983 (33rd) | Ascendancy | Edward Bennett | United Kingdom | |
| La colmena | Mario Camus | Spain | ||
| 1984 (34th) | Love Streams | John Cassavetes | United States | |
| 1985 (35th) | Wetherby | David Hare | United Kingdom | |
| The Woman and the Stranger | Die Frau und der Fremde | Rainer Simon | East Germany | |
| 1986 (36th) | Stammheim | Stammheim – Die Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe vor Gericht | Reinhard Hauff | West Germany |
| 1987 (37th) | The Theme | Teмa | Gleb Panfilov | Soviet Union |
| 1988 (38th) | Red Sorghum | 红高粱 | Zhang Yimou | China |
| 1989 (39th) | Rain Man | Barry Levinson | United States | |
| 1990s | ||||
| 1990 (40th) | Larks on a String | Skřivánci na niti | Jiří Menzel | Czechoslovakia |
| Music Box | Costa-Gavras | United States | ||
| 1991 (41st) | The House of Smiles | La casa del sorriso | Marco Ferreri | Italy |
| 1992 (42nd) | Grand Canyon | Lawrence Kasdan | United States | |
| 1993 (43rd) | The Wedding Banquet | 喜宴 | Ang Lee | Taiwan, United States |
| Woman Sesame Oil Maker | 香魂女 | Xie Fei | China | |
| 1994 (44th) | In the Name of the Father | Jim Sheridan | United Kingdom, Ireland | |
| 1995 (45th) | The Bait | L'appât | Bertrand Tavernier | France |
| 1996 (46th) | Sense and Sensibility | Ang Lee | United States | |
| 1997 (47th) | The People vs. Larry Flynt | Miloš Forman | ||
| 1998 (48th) | Central Station | Central do Brasil | Walter Salles | Brazil, France |
| 1999 (49th) | The Thin Red Line | Terrence Malick | United States | |
| 2000s | ||||
| 2000 (50th) | Magnolia | Paul Thomas Anderson | United States | |
| 2001 (51st) | Intimacy | Patrice Chéreau | France | |
| 2002 (52nd) | Bloody Sunday | Paul Greengrass | United Kingdom, Ireland | |
| Spirited Away | 千と千尋の神隠し | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan | |
| 2003 (53rd) | In This World | Michael Winterbottom | United Kingdom | |
| 2004 (54th) | Head-On | Gegen die Wand | Fatih Akin | Germany |
| 2005 (55th) | U-Carmen eKhayelitsha | Mark Dornford-May | South Africa | |
| 2006 (56th) | Grbavica | Jasmila Žbanić | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| 2007 (57th) | Tuya's Marriage | 图雅的婚事 | Wang Quan'an | China |
| 2008 (58th) | Elite Squad | Tropa de Elite | José Padilha | Brazil |
| 2009 (59th) | The Milk of Sorrow | La teta asustada | Claudia Llosa | Spain, Peru |
| 2010s | ||||
| 2010 (60th) | Honey | Bal | Semih Kaplanoğlu | Turkey |
| 2011 (61st) | A Separation | جدایی نادر از سیمین | Asghar Farhadi | Iran |
| 2012 (62nd) | Caesar Must Die | Cesare deve morire | Paolo and Vittorio Taviani | Italy |
| 2013 (63rd) | Child's Pose | Poziția copilului | Călin Peter Netzer | Romania |
| 2014 (64th) | Black Coal, Thin Ice | 白日焰火 | Diao Yinan | China |
| 2015 (65th) | Taxi | تاکسی | Jafar Panahi | Iran |
| 2016 (66th) | Fire at Sea | Fuocoammare | Gianfranco Rosi | Italy |
| 2017 (67th) | On Body and Soul | Testről és lélekről | Ildikó Enyedi | Hungary |
| 2018 (68th) | Touch Me Not | Nu mă atinge-mă | Adina Pintilie | Romania |
| 2019 (69th) | Synonyms | Synonymes | Nadav Lapid | France, Israel |
| 2020s | ||||
| 2020 (70th) | There Is No Evil | شیطان وجود ندارد | Mohammad Rasoulof | Iran |
| 2021 (71st) | Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc | Radu Jude | Romania |
| 2022 (72nd) | Alcarràs | Carla Simón | Spain, Italy | |
| 2023 (73rd) | On the Adamant | Sur l’Adamant | Nicolas Philibert | France, Japan |
As of 2023, only Ang Lee has won the award twice, in 1993 with The Wedding Banquet , and in 1996 with Sense and Sensibility.
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 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 immigrant drama Eden Is West served as the closing night film at the festival. The festival's jury president was actress Tilda Swinton of the United Kingdom.
The 1st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 6 to 17 June 1951 at the Titiana-Palast cinema. The opening film was Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca. At this very first Berlin Festival, the Golden Bear award was introduced, and it was awarded to the best film in each of five categories: drama, comedy, crime or adventure, music film, and documentary. This system disappeared already the following year because FIAPF stated that the awarding of prizes by an expert jury was reserved for "A-festivals" only. Instead, the next year's festival awards were voted on by the audience.
The 2nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12 to 25 June 1952. The FIAPF prohibited the festival from awarding any official prizes by a jury, instead awards were given by audience voting. This was changed in 1956 when the FIAPF granted Berlin "A-Status" during that year.
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 15th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June to 6 July 1965. The festival started selecting the jury members on its own rather than countries sending designated representatives. The Golden Bear was awarded to the French film Alphaville directed by Jean-Luc Godard.
The 16th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June – 5 July 1966. The Golden Bear was awarded to the British film Cul-de-sac directed by Roman Polanski.
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-French filmmaker Costa Gavras, was selected to serve as the Jury President at the festival.
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 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. German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl received the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement. The Golden Bear for Best Film went to the Iranian film Nader and Simin, A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, which also served as the closing film 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 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 Les adieux à la reine was announced as the opening film. The Golden Bear for Best Film went to the Italian film Caesar Must Die, directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, which also served as closing night film.
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 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 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 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.
