European Film Market

Berlin International Film Festival

Berlinale Palace, the main venue at Potsdamer Platz
Location	Berlin, Germany
Founded	1951
Awards	Golden Bear, Silver Bear
No. of films	441 (945 screenings) in 2014
Website	www.berlinale.de

The Berlin International Film Festival (German: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held annually in Berlin, Germany.

Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With around 300,000 tickets sold and 500,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly attended film festival worldwide based on actual attendance rates. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections, representing a comprehensive array of the cinematic world. Around twenty films compete for the awards called the Golden and Silver Bears. Since 2001 the director of the festival has been Dieter Kosslick.

The European Film Market (EFM), a film trade fair held simultaneously to the Berlinale, is a major industry meeting for the international film circuit. The trade fair serves distributors, film buyers, producers, financiers and co-production agents. The Berlinale Talent Campus, a week-long series of lectures and workshops, gathers young filmmakers from around the globe. It partners with the festival itself and is considered to be a forum for upcoming artists.

The festival, the EFM and other satellite events are attended by around 20,000 professionals from over 130 countries. More than 4200 journalists are responsible for the media exposure in over 110 countries. At high-profile feature film premieres, movie stars and celebrities are present at the red carpet. The Berlinale has established a cosmopolitan character integrating art, glamour, commerce and a global media attention.

The Berlin International Film Festival was founded in West Berlin in 1951. Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca opened the first Berlinale. Although the film had premiered in 1940, many Germans had been unable to watch it until after the war ended. Since 1978 the festival has been celebrated annually in February.

The next-to-most recent festival, the 66th Berlinale, was held from 11 February to 21 February 2016. Meryl Streep presided over the international jury.Joel and Ethan Coen's film Hail, Caesar! was selected to open the festival. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian documentary Fire at Sea, directed by Gianfranco Rosi.