What would a great film festival be without prizes? Without the debates, the excitement and without the joy of the winners? Every year several juries are called together to watch the films at the Berlinale, to examine them closely and finally to decide who and what stands out and deserves a special award.  

The most important prizes at the Berlinale are the Golden and Silver Bears. These are awarded by the International Jury to films in the Competition and belong to the most respected awards in the world of film. The International Jury also awards the Alfred Bauer Prize for a film that “opens new perspectives in the art of filmmaking.” 

 

Since the Berlinale 2006 a three-person international jury awards the Best First Feature Award to a debut film in the Competition, the Panorama, the Forum or the Generation section. The prize is worth 50,000 Euro and is donated by the Gesellschaft zur Wahrnehmung von Film- und Fernsehrechten (GWFF). 

 

The International Short Film Jury awards a Golden and a Silver Bear in the competition of the Berlinale Shorts section. Furthermore, the Prix UIP for best European short film and the DAAD Short Film Award are awarded by this jury. 

 

The Crystal Bears, the main prizes in the Generation section, are awarded by a Children’s Jury and a Youth Jury. The International Jury of the Generation Kplus competition awards the prizes of the "Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk" charity. 

 

The Berlinale awards two official honours. Honorary Golden Bears honour great personalities in cinema. The Berlinale Kamera is usually presented to the personality to whom the Homage is dedicated. 

 

A number of independent juries award several different prizes. Several of them focus on a particular section of the festival. The criteria differ in accordance with the special purpose of the award. The independent prizes include the FIPRESCI Prizes, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, the Teddy Award and others. 

 

The audience also lets its voice be heard. Every year since 1999 an Audience Award has been presented to a film in the Panorama section in co-operation with the city magazine “tip” and “Radio Eins”. All Berlinale visitors can cast their vote. 

 

A footnote: In the early years of the Berlinale, the audience was the highest jury and even awarded the Bears themselves. Only once the festival had been given so-called "A-status", could the official awards be presented by an international jury.