47th Berlin International Film Festival
The 47th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1997. The Golden Bear was awarded to Canadian-American film The People vs. Larry Flynt directed by Miloš Forman. The retrospective dedicated to Austrian film director G. W. Pabst was shown at the festival.
Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:- Jack Lang, politician - Jury President
- Hark Bohm, actor, director and screenwriter
- Férid Boughedir, director, screenwriter and producer
- Maggie Cheung, actress and model
- Fred Gronich, senior executive of the MPAA
- David Hare, director, screenwriter and playwright
- Per Holst, producer
- Boleslaw Michalek, screenwriter and film critic
- Humberto Solás, director and screenwriter
- Marianne Sägebrecht, actress
- Ning Ying, director
Films in competition
| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| The Crucible | The Crucible | Nicholas Hytner | USA |
| The English Patient | The English Patient | Anthony Minghella | USA |
| Get on the Bus | Get on the Bus | Spike Lee | USA |
| Genealogies of a Crime | Généalogies d'un crime | Raúl Ruiz | France, Portugal |
| The River | He liu | Tsai Ming-liang | Taiwan |
| In Love and War | In Love and War | Richard Attenborough | USA |
| The Island on Bird Street | Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Denmark, UK, Germany | |
| Life is All You Get | Das Leben ist eine Baustelle | Wolfgang Becker | Germany |
| Under Western Eyes | Leneged Einayim Ma'araviyot | Joseph Pitchhadze | Israel |
| Lucie Aubrac | Claude Berri | France | |
| Surveillance | Mai fu | Huang Jianxin | China |
| Four Days in September | Four Days in September | Bruno Barreto | Brazil, USA |
| Miss Nobody | Panna Nikt | Andrzej Wajda | Poland |
| The People vs. Larry Flynt | The People vs. Larry Flynt | Miloš Forman | Canada, USA |
| Port Djema | Eric Heumann | France, Italy, Greece | |
| Romeo + Juliet | Romeo + Juliet | Baz Luhrmann | USA |
| Rosewood | Rosewood | John Singleton | USA |
| Viva Erotica | Se qing nan nu | Tung-Shing Yee | Hong Kong |
| Secrets of the Heart | Secretos del corazón | Montxo Armendáriz | France, Portugal, Spain |
| Moonlight Serenade | Setouchi munraito serenade | Masahiro Shinoda | Japan |
| Smilla's Feeling for Snow | Bille August | Denmark, Germany, Sweden | |
| Comanche Territory | Territorio Comanche | Gerardo Herrero | Spain, France, Germany, Argentina |
| Three Stories | Tri istorii | Kira Muratova | Russia, Ukraine |
| Twin Town | Twin Town | Kevin Allen | UK |
| Kitchen | Wo ai chu fang | Yim Ho | Hong Kong, Japan |
Key
Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:- Golden Bear: The People vs. Larry Flynt by Miloš Forman
- Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: He liu by Tsai Ming-liang
- Silver Bear for Best Director: Eric Heumann for Port Djema
- Silver Bear for Best Actress: Juliette Binoche for The English Patient
- Silver Bear for Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio for Romeo + Juliet
- Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement: Zbigniew Preisner for The Island on Bird Street
- Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution: Raúl Ruiz for Généalogies d'un crime
- Alfred Bauer Prize: Romeo + Juliet
- Honourable Mention:
- * Jordan Kiziuk for The Island on Bird Street
- * Das Leben ist eine Baustelle by Wolfgang Becker
- * Anna Wielgucka for Panna Nikt
- * Get on the Bus by Spike Lee
- Blue Angel Award: Secretos del corazón by Montxo Armendáriz
- Honorary Golden Bear: Kim Novak
- Berlinale Camera:
- * Lauren Bacall
- * Ann Hui
- * Armin Mueller-Stahl
- * Franz Seitz