# 29th Berlin International Film Festival

The 29th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February – 3 March 1979. The Golden Bear was awarded to David directed by Peter Lilienthal.
The retrospective was dedicated to Italian actor Rudolph Valentino and to another one titled "We Danced Around the World. Revue Films".

## Controversy

Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter selection for the main competition was surrounded by controversy, as it was accused of racism, and several countries decided to withdraw their films from the festival in protest.

## Juries

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

### Main Competition

* Jörn Donner, Finnish filmmaker - Jury President
* Julie Christie, British actress
* Romain Gary, French writer and screenwriter
* Ingrid Caven, German actress and singer
* Georg Alexander, German actor
* Liliana Cavani, Italian director and screenwriter
* Paul Bartel, American actor, director and screenwriter
* Pál Gábor, Hungarian director and screenwriter (Hungary)
* Věra Chytilová, Czech director and screenwriter

## Official Sections
### Main Competition

The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear award:
| English Title | Original Title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| The Adolescent | L'Adolescente | Jeanne Moreau | France |
| Albert – Why? [de] | Albert – warum? | Josef Rödl | West Germany |
| Alexandria... Why? | إسكندرية ليه | Youssef Chahine | Egypt |
| David | David | Peter Lilienthal | West Germany |
| The Deer Hunter | The Deer Hunter | Michael Cimino | United States |
| Ernesto | Ernesto | Salvatore Samperi | Italy |
| The First Polka | Die erste Polka | Klaus Emmerich | West Germany |
| Hardcore | Hardcore | Paul Schrader | United States |
| Heart of the Forest | El corazón del bosque | Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón | Spain |
| Kassbach – Ein Porträt | Kassbach – Ein Porträt | Peter Patzak | Austria |
| Kejsaren | Kejsaren | Jösta Hagelbäck | Sweden |
| Love on the Run | L'amour en fuite | François Truffaut | France |
| The Marriage of Maria Braun | Die Ehe der Maria Braun | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany |
| Meetings with Remarkable Men | Meetings with Remarkable Men | Peter Brook | United Kingdom |
| Messidor | Messidor | Alain Tanner | Switzerland |
| Movie Movie | Movie Movie | Stanley Donen | United States |
| Nosferatu the Vampyre | Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht | Werner Herzog | West Germany |
| Origins of a Meal | Genèse d'un repas | Luc Moullet | France |
| Parashuram | পরশুরাম | Mrinal Sen | India |
| Phantom | Phantom | René Perraudin [de] and Uwe Schrader [de] | West Germany |
| The Stud Farm | A ménesgazda | András Kovács | Hungary |
| Ubu | Ubu | Geoff Dunbar | United Kingdom |
| Winterborn | Vinterbørn | Astrid Henning-Jensen | Denmark |

### Out of Competition

* Het verloren paradijs, directed by Harry Kümel (Belgium)

### Retrospective

The following films were shown in the retrospective dedicated to Rudolph Valentino:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production Country |
| All Night | All Night | Paul Powell | United States |
| Blood and Sand | Blood and Sand | Fred Niblo | United States |
| Eyes of Youth | Eyes of Youth | Albert Parker | United States |
| Monsieur Beaucaire | Monsieur Beaucaire | Sidney Olcott | United States |
| Moran of the Lady Letty | Moran of the Lady Letty | George Melford | United States |
| The Conquering Power | The Conquering Power | Rex Ingram | United States |
| The Eagle | The Eagle | Clarence Brown | United States |
| The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Rex Ingram | United States |
| The Sheik | The Sheik | George Melford | United States |
| The Son of the Sheik | The Son of the Sheik | George Fitzmaurice | United States |
| The Wonderful Chance | The Wonderful Chance | George Archainbaud | United States |

## Official Awards

The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:
* Golden Bear: David by Peter Lilienthal
* Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: Alexandria... Why? by Youssef Chahine
* Silver Bear for Best Director: Astrid Henning-Jensen for Winterborn
* Silver Bear for Best Actress: Hanna Schygulla for The Marriage of Maria Braun
* Silver Bear for Best Actor: Michele Placido for Ernesto
* Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement:
** Henning von Gierke for Nosferatu the Vampyre
** Sten Holmberg for Kejsaren
* Silver Bear: The Marriage of Maria Braun by Rainer Werner Fassbinder