The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, widely considered among the most prestigious film festival awards. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin.
History 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. Between 1952 and 1955, the winners of the Golden Bear were determined by the audience members. 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.
From 2026, the non-English language winners will also be automatically eligible for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
The statuette 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 or third edition by art foundry Hermann Noack.
The original award was redesigned in a larger version in 1960, with the left arm of the bear raised as opposed to the right in the former model.
, the bear is high and is fixed onto a base where the winning name is engraved. The figurine consists of a bronze core, which is then plated with a layer of gold. The total weight of the award is .
Winners
Below is a list of all winners since 1951:
1950s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 1951 (Drama) Switzerland (Comedy) France (Documentary) United States (Thriller & Adventure) France (Music Film) United States 1952 Sweden 1953 France, Italy 1954 United Kingdom 1955 West Germany 1956 United States 1957 1958 Sweden 1959 France 1960s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 1960 Spain 1961 Italy 1962 United Kingdom 1963 Japan Italy 1964 Turkey 1965 France, Italy 1966 United Kingdom 1967 Belgium 1968 Sweden 1969 / Рани радови Yugoslavia
1970s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 1970 No awards given because of the controversy surrounding Michael Verhoeven's anti-war film o.k. 1971 West Germany, Italy 1972 Italy 1973 India 1974 Canada 1975 Hungary 1976 United States 1977 Soviet Union 1978 Spain 1979 West Germany
1980s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 1980 United States West Germany 1981 Spain 1982 West Germany 1983 United Kingdom Spain 1984 United States 1985 United Kingdom East Germany 1986 Stammheim – Die Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe vor Gericht West Germany 1987 Soviet Union 1988 China 1989 United States
1990s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 1990 Czechoslovakia Costa-Gavras United States 1991 Italy 1992 United States 1993 Taiwan, United States China 1994 United Kingdom, Ireland 1995 France 1996 United States 1997 1998 Brazil, France 1999 United States
2000s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 2000 United States 2001 France 2002 United Kingdom, Ireland Japan 2003 United Kingdom 2004 Germany, Turkey 2005 South Africa 2006 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2007 China 2008 Brazil 2009 Spain, Peru
2010s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 2010 Turkey 2011 Iran 2012 Italy 2013 Romania 2014 China 2015 Iran 2016 Italy 2017 Hungary 2018 Romania 2019 France, Israel
2020s Year English title Original title Director(s) Production country 2020 Iran 2021 Romania 2022 Spain, Italy 2023 France, Japan 2024 France, Senegal, Benin 2025 Dreams (Sex Love) Drømmer Dag Johan Haugerud Norway 2026 Yellow Letters Gelbe Briefe İlker Çatak Germany, France, Turkey
Multiple winners As of 2025, Ang Lee is the only filmmaker to win the award twice, for The Wedding Banquet in 1993 and for Sense and Sensibility in 1996.
See also Honorary Golden Bear Silver Bear and other awards at the Berlin International Film Festival Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival Golden Lion, the highest prize awarded at the Venice Film Festival
Notes
References
External links
Berlinale website IMDb