58th Berlin International Film Festival
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 Golden Bear was awarded to Brazilian film Tropa de Elite directed by José Padilha. The retrospective dedicated to Spanish film-maker Luis Buñuel was shown at the festival.
Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:International jury
- Costa-Gavras, director, screenwriter and producer - Jury President
- Uli Hanisch, production designer
- Diane Kruger, actress
- Walter Murch, director and editor
- Shu Qi, actress and model
- Alexander Rodnyansky, producer
- Ben Barenholtz, producer and distributor
- Dominique Cabrera, director and screenwriter
- Jasmila Žbanić, director, screenwriter and producer
- Marc Barbé, actor and director
- Ada Solomon, producer
- Laura Tonke, actress
In competition
| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| The Song of Sparrow | Avaze gonjeshk-ha | Majid Majidi | Iran |
| Ballast | Ballast | Lance Hammer | USA |
| Night and Day | Bam gua nat | Sang-soo Hong | South Korea |
| Quiet Chaos | Caos calmo | Antonello Grimaldi | Italy, UK |
| Elegy | Elegy | Isabel Coixet | USA |
| Tropa de Elite | José Padilha | Brazil | |
| Feuerherz | Luigi Falorni | Germany | |
| Gardens of the Night | Gardens of the Night | Damian Harris | USA, UK |
| Happy-Go-Lucky | Happy-Go-Lucky | Mike Leigh | UK |
| Il y a longtemps que je t'aime | Philippe Claudel | France | |
| Julia | Julia | Erick Zonca | France, USA, Mexico, Belgium |
| Cherry Blossoms | Kirschblüten – Hanami | Doris Dörrie | Germany |
| Kâbê | Yoji Yamada | Japan | |
| Lady Jane | Robert Guédiguian | France | |
| Lake Tahoe | Fernando Eimbcke | Mexico, Japan, USA | |
| Sparrow | Man jeuk | Johnnie To | Hong Kong |
| Musta jää | Petri Kotwica | Finland, Germany | |
| Restless | Amos Kollek | Israel, Germany | |
| Standard Operating Procedure | Standard Operating Procedure | Errol Morris | USA |
| There Will Be Blood | There Will Be Blood | Paul Thomas Anderson | USA |
| In Love We Trust | Zuo You | Wang Xiaoshuai | China |
Key
Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:Golden Bear
- Golden Bear for Best Film – Tropa de Elite by José Padilha
Silver Bears
- Jury Grand Prix : Standard Operating Procedure by Errol Morris
- Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood
- Best Actor: Reza Naji for Avaze gonjeshk-ha
- Best Actress: Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
- Best Script: Wang Xiaoshuai for In Love We Trust
- Outstanding Artistic Contribution: For the Music of There Will Be Blood by Jonny Greenwood
- Alfred Bauer Prize: Fernando Eimbcke for Lake Tahoe
- FIPRESCI Award: Fernando Eimbcke for Lake Tahoe