The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the President of the Jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. American actress Meryl Streep was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear on 14 February.

Benoît Jacquot Benoît Jacquot (; born 5 February 1947) is a French film director and screenwriter who has had a varied career in European cinema. Life and career Born in Paris, Jacquot began his career as assistant director of Marguerite Duras films, inclu ...

's film '' Les adieux à la reine'' was announced as the opening film. The Golden Bear for Best Film went to the Italian film '' Caesar Must Die'', directed by

Paolo and Vittorio Taviani Paolo Taviani (; born 8 November 1931) and Vittorio Taviani (; 20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on film productions. At the C ...

, which also served as closing night film.

Competition

Jury

The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival: International jury * Mike Leigh, director and screenwriter (United Kingdom) - Jury President *

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

, photographer and director (Netherlands) *

Asghar Farhadi Asghar Farhadi ( fa, اصغر فرهادی, ; born 7 May 1972)Soureh Movie Database

, director, screenwriter and producer (Iran) * Charlotte Gainsbourg, actress (France) * Jake Gyllenhaal, actor (United States) * François Ozon, director and screenwriter (France) * Boualem Sansal, writer (Algeria) * Barbara Sukowa, actress (Germany) Best First Feature Award Jury *

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...

, actor (United States) *

Hania Mroué Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The ...

, producer and distributor (Lebanon) * Moritz Rinke, journalist and writer (Germany) International Short Film Jury * Sandra Hüller, actress (Germany) * Emily Jacir, artist and producer (Palestine) * David O'Reilly, director, screenwriter and producer (Ireland)

In competition

The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:

Out of competition

Panorama

Key

Awards

The following prizes were awarded by the International Jury: Golden Bear for Best Film: '' Caesar Must Die'' by

'' The Hollywood Reporter'' described the outcome as "a major upset". ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' said it was a "very conservative selection." '' Der Tagesspiegel'' criticised the outcome, "The jury shunned almost all the contemporary films that were admired or hotly debated at an otherwise pretty remarkable festival." Paolo Taviani said "We hope that when the film is released to the general public that cinemagoers will say to themselves or even those around them... that even a prisoner with a dreadful sentence, even a life sentence, is and remains a human being". Vittorio Taviani read out the names of the cast. Silver Bears * Jury Grand Prix: ''Just the Wind'' by Benedek Fliegauf * Silver Bear for Best Director: Christian Petzold (director), Christian Petzold for ''Barbara (2012 film), Barbara'' * Silver Bear for Best Actress: Rachel Mwanza for ''War Witch'' * Silver Bear for Best Actor: Mikkel Følsgaard for ''A Royal Affair'' * Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Lutz Reitemeier for the photography in ''White Deer Plain (film), White Deer Plain'' * Silver Bear for Best Script: Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg for ''A Royal Affair'' * Alfred Bauer Prize for a work of particular innovation: ''Tabu (2012 film), Tabu'' by Miguel Gomes * Special Award – Silver Bear: ''Sister (2012 film), Sister'' by Ursula Meier Golden Bear#Golden Bear – Honorary Award, Honorary Golden Bear * Meryl Streep Crystal Bears * Generation Kplus (Feature Length Film): ''Arcadia (2012 film), Arcadia'' by Olivia Silver * Generation 14plus (Feature Length Film): ''Night of Silence'' by Reis Çelik International Federation of Film Critics, FIPRESCI Prizes *Competition: ''Tabu (2012 film), Tabu'' by Miguel Gomes *Panorama: ''Atomic Age'' by Héléna Klotz *Forum: ''Hemel'' by Sacha Polak Golden Bear for Best Short Film: ''Rafa'' by João Salaviza

References

External links

Yearbook 2012 at berlinale.de

62nd Berlin International Film Festival 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlin International Film Festival, 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, 62 2012 film festivals 2012 festivals in Europe 2012 in Berlin 2012 in German cinema, Berl