Berlin International Film Festival

Offical Site: http://www.berlinale.de/

It was formerly known as West Berlin International Film Festival, one of first-rate International Film Festival in Europe. It was sponsored by Alfred Bauer in the early fifties and then got German government and the film industry’s support and assistance.By the end of June to early July in 1951, the first session was held in West Berlin.

There are two main prizes, ‘Golden Bear” and “Silver Bear”. “Golden Bear” awards for Best Feature Film, documentaries, educational film, art film. “Silver Bear” awards for best director, actors and actresses, script writing, music, photography, art, youth work or have special achievements in feature films, etc. There also have the International Critics Award and Special Jury Award. 30 to 40 countroes and regions participated in the festival every year and showed 200 to 300 films in 1980s. The Festival held annually. It was advanced to the end of February to early March and held for two weeks in order to competite with France’s Canners International Film Festival since 1978.

Berlin International Film Festival was created in the United States or by the initiativationof the three Westerm allies from a broader sense in 1951. The festival had already established an important position of cultural life in Berlin in the next ten years. Ingmar Bergman, Sadiyaji Treil, Michelangelo Bo Luo Dian Dong nyoni it, Roman Polanski and the French “New Wave” Jean – Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Chabrol Keluodexia won the Berlin Film Festival with their films and made a huge international success.

It got into a period of apparent stagnation from the mid-sixties. The new films in international formus was created with the contest of the traditional in 1971. Soviet Union’s first film appeared in the Film Festival in 1974 and East German film joined a year later. The political form changed and West Germany and East Germany signned the treaty. Since then, the Berlin Film Festival reposited itself as a mirror of intetnational film production. Thus, it played a more important cultural and political role in the convergence between East and West.

The Berlin International Film Festival has become a major international film festival with Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and so on. Its significance lies not only in attracting large audiences, but also on attracting many filmmakers. More than 60 countries’ newspapers, magazines, internet, radio and TV stations rush for nearly 3,000 journalists.

The most important part of the Berlin Film Festival is that the worldwide films participate in the competition category. The main prize was awarded by the international film festival jury at the end of the contest. Berlin Film Festival “discovered” a large number of film director and they have been included in film history now. Berlin International Film Festival winners include Lai Naweierna Fassbinder, Michelangelo Bo Luo Dian Antonioni, Jean-Luc Godard, Ingmar Bergman, Sidney Lumet, Keluodexia Chabrol, Roman Polanski, Satyajit Rey, Carlos Saura, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, Robert Altman, John Kasaweicivits and many others.