31st Berlin International Film Festival
# 31st Berlin International Film Festival

The 31st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1981. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film Deprisa, Deprisa directed by Carlos Saura. The retrospective was dedicated to British film producer Michael Balcon, as well a tribute to Turkish film director Yılmaz Güney who was a political prisoner at the time. The guest of the Homage was German film director Peter Pewas.

## Jury

The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:

* Jutta Brückner, German director, screenwriter and producer - Jury President
* Denis Héroux, French director and producer
* Astrid Henning-Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter
* Irina Kupchenko, Soviet actress
* Peter Bichsel, Swiss journalist and writer
* Antonio Isasi-Isasmendi, Spanish director, screenwriter, editor and producer
* Chatrichalerm Yukol, Thai director
* Jerzy Płażewski, Polish film critic, writer and film historian
* Italo Zingarelli, Italian producer

## Films in competition

The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear award:

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| - | - | - | - |
| In Search of Famine | আকালের সন্ধানে Akaler Shandhaney | Mrinal Sen | India |
| Children's Island | Barnens ö | Kay Pollak | Sweden |
| The Boat Is Full | Das Boot ist voll | Markus Imhoof | Switzerland |
| Deprisa, Deprisa | Deprisa, Deprisa | Carlos Saura | Spain |
| The Inventor | Der Erfinder | Kurt Gloor | Switzerland |
| Der Neger Erwin | Der Neger Erwin | Herbert Achternbusch | West Germany |
| Twenty Six Days from the Life of Dostoyevsky | Двадцать шесть дней из жизни Достоевского | Aleksandr Zarkhi | Soviet Union |
| Fever | Gorączka | Agnieszka Holland | Poland |
| Head On | Head On | Michael Grant | Canada |
| History of the World in Three Minutes Flat | History of the World in Three Minutes Flat | Michael Mills | Canada |
| Il minestrone | Il minestrone | Sergio Citti | Italy |
| The Truck | Камионът | Christo Christov | Bulgaria |
| Köszönöm, megvagyunk | Köszönöm, megvagyunk | László Lugossy | Hungary |
| कुदरत Kudrat | कुदरत Kudrat | Chetan Anand | India |
| La provinciale | La provinciale | Claude Goretta | Switzerland |
| Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven | Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven | Jean-Jacques Andrien | Belgium |
| หลวงตา Luang Ta | หลวงตา Luang Ta | Permphol Cheyaroon | Thailand |
| Maravillas | Maravillas | Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón | Spain |
| Milka – A Film About Taboos | Milka – elokuva tabuista | Rauni Mollberg | Finland |
| On Land, at Sea and in the Air | Ter land, ter zee en in de lucht | Paul Driessen | Netherlands |
| Tribute | Tribute | Bob Clark | Canada |
| ツィゴイネルワイゼン Tsigoineruwaizen | ツィゴイネルワイゼン Tsigoineruwaizen | Seijun Suzuki | Japan |
| Vrijdag | Vrijdag | Hugo Claus | Belgium |
| Come Back Swallow | 燕归来 Yen gui lai | Jinggong Fu | China |

    $^†$ Winner of the main award for best film in its section

### Out of competition

* Ordinary People, directed by Robert Redford (United States)
* Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese (United States)

## Retrospective

The following films were shown in the retrospective dedicated to Michael Balcon:

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| - | - | - | - |
| Bulldog Jack | Bulldog Jack | Walter Forde | United Kingdom |
| Dead of Night | Dead of Night | Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer | United Kingdom |
| Foreign Affaires | Foreign Affaires | Tom Walls | United Kingdom |
| I Was a Spy | I Was a Spy | Victor Saville | United Kingdom |
| Sabotage | Sabotage | Alfred Hitchcock | United Kingdom |
| Secret Agent | Secret Agent | Alfred Hitchcock | United Kingdom |
| The Blue Lamp | The Blue Lamp | Basil Dearden | United Kingdom |
| The Gaunt Stranger | The Gaunt Stranger | Walter Forde | United Kingdom |
| The Man Who Knew Too Much | The Man Who Knew Too Much | Alfred Hitchcock | United Kingdom |
| The Ladykillers | The Ladykillers | Alexander Mackendrick | United Kingdom |
| The Lavender Hill Mob | The Lavender Hill Mob | Charles Crichton | United Kingdom |
| The 39 Steps | The 39 Steps | Alfred Hitchcock | United Kingdom |

The following films were shown in the homage dedicated to Peter Pewas:

| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Country |
| - | - | - | - |
| Many Passed By | Viele kamen vorbei | Peter Pewas | West Germany |

## Awards

The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:

* Golden Bear: Deprisa, Deprisa by Carlos Saura
* Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: Akaler Sandhane by Mrinal Sen
* Silver Bear for Best Actress: Barbara Grabowska for Gorączka
* Silver Bear for Best Actor:
   * Anatoly Solonitsyn for Dvadtsat shest dney iz zhizni Dostoevskogo
   * Jack Lemmon for Tribute
* Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement: Markus Imhoof for Das Boot ist voll
* Honourable Mention:
   * Le Grand Paysage d'Alexis Droeven
   * Tsigoineruwaizen
