Golden Bear
The Golden Bear is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. The winners of the first Berlin International Film Festival in 1951 were determined by a West German panel, and there were 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 FIAPF formally accredited the festival, and since then the Golden Bear has been awarded by an international jury.
The award
The statuette shows a bear standing on the 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 the first edition by art foundry Hermann Noack. It was awarded for the first time in 1951 and was redesigned in a larger version in 1960. Also, the left arm of the bear was raised as opposed to the right in the former model. The current bear is 20 centimeters 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 4 kilograms.Golden Bear
; NotesMultiple winners
- Ang Lee
Golden Bear – Honorary Award
| Year | Winner |
| 1982 | James Stewart |
| 1988 | Alec Guinness |
| 1989 | Dustin Hoffman |
| 1990 | Oliver Stone |
| 1993 | Gregory Peck and Billy Wilder |
| 1994 | Sophia Loren |
| 1995 | Alain Delon |
| 1996 | Elia Kazan and Jack Lemmon |
| 1997 | Kim Novak |
| 1998 | Catherine Deneuve |
| 1999 | Shirley MacLaine |
| 2000 | Jeanne Moreau |
| 2001 | Kirk Douglas |
| 2002 | Robert Altman and Claudia Cardinale |
| 2003 | Anouk Aimée |
| 2004 | Fernando Solanas |
| 2005 | Im Kwon-taek and Fernando Fernán Gómez |
| 2006 | Andrzej Wajda and Ian McKellen |
| 2007 | Arthur Penn |
| 2008 | Francesco Rosi |
| 2009 | Maurice Jarre |
| 2010 | Wolfgang Kohlhaase and Hanna Schygulla |
| 2011 | Armin Mueller-Stahl |
| 2012 | Meryl Streep |
| 2013 | Claude Lanzmann |
| 2014 | Ken Loach |
| 2015 | Wim Wenders |
| 2016 | Michael Ballhaus |
| 2017 | Milena Canonero |
| 2018 | Willem Dafoe |
| 2019 | Charlotte Rampling |
| 2020 | Helen Mirren |