61st Berlin International Film Festival
The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 February 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116 countries, including 3900 members of the press. German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl received the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement. The Golden Bear for Best Film went to the Iranian film Nader and Simin, A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, which also served as the closing film at the festival.
Competition
Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:International jury
- Isabella Rossellini, actress - Jury President
- Jan Chapman, producer
- Nina Hoss, actress
- Aamir Khan, actor, director, screenwriter and producer
- Guy Maddin, director and screenwriter
- Sandy Powell, costume designer
Best First Feature Award Jury
- Bettina Brokemper, producer
- Assaf Gavron, writer and musician
- Michèle Ohayon, director, screenwriter and producer
- Nan Goldin, photographer
- Ibrahim Letaief, director, screenwriter and producer
- Renen Schorr, director, screenwriter and producer
In competition
| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| Our Grand Despair | Bizim Büyük Çaresizliğimiz | Seyfi Teoman | Turkey, Germany and Netherlands |
| Coriolanus | Ralph Fiennes | United Kingdom | |
| Tales of the Night | Michel Ocelot | France | |
| Joshua Marston | Albania and United States | ||
| Miranda July | Germany and United States | ||
| Nader and Simin, A Separation | جدایی نادر از سیمین Jodaeiye Nader az Simin | Asghar Farhadi | Iran |
| Lipstikka | Odem | Jonathan Sagall | Israel and United Kingdom |
| Margin Call | J.C. Chandor | United States | |
| Rodrigo Moreno | Argentina, Germany and Uruguay | ||
| Paula Markovitch | Mexico, France, Poland and Germany | ||
| Come Rain, Come Shine | 사랑한다, 사랑하지 않는다 Saranghanda, Saranghaji Anneunda | Lee Yoon-ki | South Korea |
| Sleeping Sickness | Schlafkrankheit | Germany, France and Netherlands | |
| Béla Tarr | Hungary, France, Germany and Switzerland | ||
| Innocent Saturday | V subbotu | Aleksandr Mindadze | Russia, Germany and Ukraine |
| If Not Us, Who? | Wer wenn nicht wir | Andres Veiel | Germany |
| Yelling to the Sky | Victoria Mahoney | United States |
Out of competition
The following films were screened out of competition at the festival:| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| Almanya: Willkommen in Deutschland | Yasemin Şamdereli | Germany | |
| Service Entrance | Philippe Le Guay | France | |
| My Best Enemy | Mein bester Feind | Wolfgang Murnberger | Austria and Luxembourg |
| Pina | Wim Wenders | Germany and France | |
| True Grit | Joel and Ethan Coen | United States | |
| Unknown | Jaume Collet-Serra | Germany, United Kingdom, France |
Panorama
The following films were screened in the Main Programme of the Panorama section:| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| 부당거래 Bu-dang-geo-rae | Ryoo Seung-wan | South Korea | |
| Into the White Night | Byakuyakou | Yoshihiro Fukagawa | Japan |
| Ashamed | 창피해 Chang-Pi-Hae | Kim Soo-hyun | South Korea |
| Dance Town | Jeon Kyu-hwan | South Korea | |
| Top Floor Left Wing | Dernier étage gauche gauche | Angelo Cianci | France, Luxembourg |
| Seven Murders Forgiven | 7 Khoon Maaf | Vishal Bhardwaj | India |
| Asshole | Gandu | Kaushik Mukherjee | India |
| Here | Braden King | United States | |
| Invisible | Lo Roim Alaich | Michal Aviad | Israel and Germany |
| Mothers | Majki | Milčo Mančevski | Macedonia, France and Bulgaria |
| Off Beat | Jan Gassmann | Switzerland | |
| Qualunquemente | Giulio Manfredonia | Italy | |
| Romeos | Sabine Bernardi | Germany | |
| Even the Rain | También la lluvia | Icíar Bollaín | Spain, France and Mexico |
| The Mortician | Gareth Maxwell | United Kingdom and United States | |
| Tomboy | Céline Sciamma | France | |
| Vampire | Shunji Iwai | United States and Canada |
Forum
The following films were screened in the Main Programme of the Forum section:| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| Absent | Ausente | Marco Berger | Argentina |
| Amnesty | Bujar Alimani | Albania, Greece and France | |
| Tom Fassaert | Netherlands and Belgium | ||
| Marie Losier | United States and France | ||
| Brownian Movement | Nanouk Leopold | Netherlands, Germany and Belgium | |
| Cheonggyecheon Medley: A Dream of Iron | Kelvin Kyung Kun Park | South Korea | |
| Day Is Done | Thomas Imbach | Switzerland | |
| E-Love | Anne Villacèque | France | |
| Eighty Letters | Osmdesát dopisů | Václav Kadrnka | Czech Republic |
| Familiar Ground | En terrains connus | Stéphane Lafleur | Canada |
| FIT | Hiromasa Hirosue | Japan | |
| Follow Me | Folge mir | Johannes Hammel | Austria |
| Free Hands | Brigitte Sy | France | |
| Good Morning to the World!! | Sekai Good Morning!! | Satoru Hirohara | Japan |
| Heaven's Story | Takahisa Zeze | Japan | |
| Hi-So | Aditya Assarat | Thailand | |
| Dom | Zuzana Liová | Slovakia and Czech Republic | |
| Household X | Kazoku X | Kōki Yoshida | Japan |
| Idleness | Ocio | Alejandro Lingenti and Juan Villegas | Argentina |
| Kabul Dream Factory | Traumfabrik Kabul | Sebastian Heidinger | Germany and Afghanistan |
| Patang | Prashant Bhargava | India and United States | |
| Late Autumn | 만추 Man chu | Kim Tae-yong | South Korea, Hong Kong, China and United States |
| Looking for Simon | Auf der Suche | Jan Krüger | Germany and France |
| Made in Poland | Przemysław Wojcieszek | Poland | |
| Matchmaking Mayor | Nesvatbov | Erika Hníková | Czech Republic |
| Tiago Mata Machado | Brazil | ||
| Self Referential Traverse: Zeitgeist and Engagement | 자가당착: 시대 정신과 현실 참여 Jagadangchak: shidae-jeongshin-kwa hyeonshil-chamyeo | Kim Sun | South Korea |
| Silver Bullets/Art History | Joe Swanberg | United States | |
| State of Violence | Khalo Matabane | South Africa and France | |
| Submarine | Richard Ayoade | United Kingdom | |
| Swans | Hugo Vieira da Silva | Germany and Portugal | |
| Take Shelter | Jeff Nichols | United States | |
| Territoire perdu | Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd | France and Belgium | |
| Poor kor karn rai | Thunska Pansittivorakul | Germany and Thailand | |
| Under Control | Unter Kontrolle | Volker Sattel | Germany |
| Utopians | Zbigniew Bzymek | United States | |
| Viva Riva! | Djo Tunda Wa Munga | Democratic Republic of Congo, France and Belgium | |
| Ways of the Sea | Halaw | Sheron Dayoc | Philippines |
| Marcela Said and Jean de Certeau | Chile |
Berlinale Shorts
Jury
- Nan Goldin, American photographer
- Renen Schorr, Israeli director
- Ibrahim Letaief, Tunisian director and producer
Films
| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| 15 July | 15 iulie | Cristi Iftime | Romania |
| Silent River | Apele Tac | Anca Miruna Lazarescu | Germany and Romania |
| Ashley/Amber | Rebecca R. Rojer | ||
| Hugo Lilja | Sweden | ||
| Back by 6 | Peter Connelly | Belgium | |
| Fernando Vílchez Rodríguez | Peru | ||
| Cleaning up the Studio | Christian Jankowski | South Korea | |
| Maria José San Martín | Chile | ||
| Forest | Erdő | György Mór Kárpáti | Hungary |
| Questions to my Father | Fragen an meinen Vater | Konrad Mühe | Germany |
| Green Crayons | Kazik Radwanski | Canada | |
| Heavy Heads | Helena Frank | Denmark | |
| Night Fishing | 파란만장 Paranmanjang | Park Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyong | South Korea |
| Arpeggio Ante Lucem | Pera Berbangê | Arin Inan Arslan | Turkey |
| Planet Z | Momoko Seto | France | |
| Broken Night | 부서진 밤 Bu-seo-jin Bam | Yang Hyo-joo | South Korea |
| Doctor Rao | Rao Yi Sheng | Alexej Tchernyi and Wu Zhi | Germany |
| Scenes from the Suburbs | Spike Jonze | United States and Canada | |
| Seven Days in the Woods | Sju dagar i skogen | Peter Larsson | Sweden |
| Stick Climbing | Daniel Zimmermann | Austria and Switzerland | |
| Terribly Happy | Sudsanan | Pimpaka Towira | Thailand |
| Susya | Dani Rosenberg and Yoav Gross | Israel and Palestine | |
| Świteź | Kamil Polak | Poland, Switzerland, France, Canada and Denmark | |
| Tomorrow Everything Will Be Alright | Akram Zaatari | Lebanon and United Kingdom | |
| Woman Waiting | Antoine Bourges | Canada |
Key
Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:- Golden Bear for Best Film: Nader and Simin, A Separation by Asghar Farhadi
- Jury Grand Prix: The Turin Horse by Béla Tarr
- Best Director: for Sleeping Sickness
- Best Actress: the actress ensemble of Nader and Simin, A Separation
- Best Actor: the actor ensemble of Nader and Simin, A Separation
- Outstanding Artistic Contribution : Barbara Enriquez for The Prize
- Outstanding Artistic Contribution : Wojciech Staron for The Prize
- Best Script: Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj for The Forgiveness of Blood
- Alfred Bauer Prize for a work of particular innovation: If Not Us, Who? by Andres Veiel
- Armin Mueller-Stahl
- Generation Kplus : The Liverpool Goalie by Arild Andresen
- Generation14plus : On the Ice by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean
- Competition: The Turin Horse by Béla Tarr
- Panorama: Top Floor Left Wing by Angelo Cianci
- Forum: Heaven's Story by Takahisa Zeze