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 Golden Bear was awarded to Elite Squad directed by José Padilha. The retrospective dedicated to Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel was shown at the festival.
Juries The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
Main Competition Costa-Gavras, Greek filmmaker and producer - Jury President Uli Hanisch, German production designer Diane Kruger, German actress Walter Murch, American director and editor Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress and model Alexander Rodnyansky, Russian producer
Best First Feature Award Jury Ben Barenholtz, American producer and distributor Dominique Cabrera, French filmmaker Jasmila Žbanić, Bosnian filmmaker and producer
Short Film Competition Jury Marc Barbé, French actor and director Ada Solomon, Romanian producer Laura Tonke, German actress
Official Sections
Main Competition The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards: English title Original title Director(s) Production CountryBallast Lance Hammer United StatesCherry BlossomsKirschblüten – Hanami Doris Dörrie GermanySparrow文雀 Johnnie To Hong KongBlack IceMusta jää Petri Kotwica Finland, GermanyElegy Isabel Coixet United StatesElite SquadTropa de Elite José Padilha BrazilGardens of the Night Damian Harris United States, United KingdomHappy-Go-Lucky Mike Leigh United KingdomHeart of FireFeuerherz Luigi Falorni Eritrea, Germany, United KingdomIn Love We Trust左右Wang XiaoshuaiChinaI've Loved You So LongIl y a longtemps que je t'aime Philippe Claudel France, GermanyJulia Erick Zonca France, United States, Mexico, BelgiumKabei: Our Mother母べえ Yoji Yamada JapanLady Jane Robert Guédiguian FranceLake Tahoe Fernando Eimbcke MexicoNight and Day밤과 낮 Sang-soo Hong South KoreaQuiet ChaosCaos calmo Antonello Grimaldi ItalyRestlessAmos KollekIsrael, GermanyStandard Operating Procedure Errol Morris United StatesThe Song of Sparrowsآواز گنجشکها Majid Majidi IranThere Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson United States Official Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:
Main Competition Golden Bear: Elite Squad by José Padilha
Silver Bear Grand Prize of the Jury: Standard Operating Procedure by Errol Morris Silver Bear for Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood Silver Bear for Best Actor: Reza Naji for The Song of Sparrows Silver Bear for Best Actress: Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Wang Xiaoshuai for In Love We Trust Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Jonny Greenwood for There Will Be Blood (score) Alfred Bauer Prize: Fernando Eimbcke for Lake Tahoe
Independent Awards
FIPRESCI Award Fernando Eimbcke for Lake Tahoe
References
External links
58th Berlin International Film Festival 2008 Yearbook 2008 at berlinale.de