# List of Berlin International Film Festival jury presidents

Each year, the jury of the Berlin International Film Festival is chaired by an internationally recognised personality of cinema. Being appointed to this position is the recognition of an outstanding career. This article lists all past presidents of the international jury, which is responsible for awarding the most prestigious prizes in the festival, including the Golden Bear and various Silver Bears.

## History

The winners of the first awards in 1951 were determined by an exclusively West German panel. The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films) banned the awarding of jury prizes at the festival so between 1952 and 1955, the winners of the Golden Bear were determined by the audience members.
In 1956, FIAPF formally accredited the festival and since then the Golden Bear has been awarded by an international jury. In 2021 a jury presidency was not appointed for the first time since creation of the position.
The first foreign president of the jury and inaugural holder of this position was French film director Marcel Carné. The first woman who held the office of president of the jury was dancer Wendy Toye.
Since creation, no one has been appointed as president of the jury more than once.

## Main competition jury presidents

| Year | President | Profession |
| 1956 | Marcel Carné | Filmmaker |
| 1957 | Jay Carmody | Film critic |
| 1958 | Frank Capra | Filmmaker |
| 1959 | Robert Aldrich | Filmmaker |
| 1960 | Harold Lloyd | Actor |
| 1961 | James Quinn | Film administrator |
| 1962 | King Vidor | Filmmaker |
| 1963 | Wendy Toye | Dancer |
| 1964 | Anthony Mann | Director and actor |
| 1965 | John Gillett | Film critic |
| 1966 | Pierre Braunberger | Producer |
| 1967 | Thorold Dickinson | Filmmaker |
| 1968 | Luis García Berlanga | Filmmaker |
| 1969 | Johannes Schaaf | Filmmaker |
| 1970 | George Stevens | Filmmaker |
| 1971 | Bjørn Rasmussen | Poet |
| 1972 | Eleanor Perry | Writer |
| 1973 | David Robinson | Film Critic |
| 1974 | Rodolfo Kuhn | Filmmaker |
| 1975 | Sylvia Syms | Actress |
| 1976 | Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Filmmaker |
| 1977 | Senta Berger | Actress |
| 1978 | Patricia Highsmith | Writer |
| 1979 | Jörn Donner | Filmmaker |
| 1980 | Ingrid Thulin | Actress |
| 1981 | Jutta Brückner | Filmmaker |
| 1982 | Joan Fontaine | Actress |
| 1983 | Jeanne Moreau | Actress |
| 1984 | Liv Ullmann | Actress |
| 1985 | Jean Marais | Actor |
| 1986 | Gina Lollobrigida | Actress |
| 1987 | Klaus Maria Brandauer | Actor |
| 1988 | Guglielmo Biraghi | Film critic |
| 1989 | Rolf Liebermann | Composer |
| 1990 | Michael Ballhaus | Cinematographer |
| 1991 | Volker Schlöndorff | Filmmaker |
| 1992 | Annie Girardot | Actress |
| 1993 | Frank Beyer | Filmmaker |
| 1994 | Jeremy Thomas | Film producer |
| 1995 | Lia van Leer | Film programmer and film archivist |
| 1996 | Nikita Mikhalkov | Filmmaker and actor |
| 1997 | Jack Lang | Politician |
| 1998 | Ben Kingsley | Actor |
| 1999 | Ángela Molina | Actress |
| 2000 | Gong Li | Actress |
| 2001 | Bill Mechanic | Film producer |
| 2002 | Mira Nair | Filmmaker |
| 2003 | Atom Egoyan | Filmmaker |
| 2004 | Frances McDormand | Actress |
| 2005 | Roland Emmerich | Filmmaker |
| 2006 | Charlotte Rampling | Actress |
| 2007 | Paul Schrader | Filmmaker |
| 2008 | Costa-Gavras | Filmmaker |
| 2009 | Tilda Swinton | Actress |
| 2010 | Werner Herzog | Filmmaker |
| 2011 | Isabella Rossellini | Actress |
| 2012 | Mike Leigh | Filmmaker |
| 2013 | Wong Kar-wai | Filmmaker |
| 2014 | James Schamus | Writer |
| 2015 | Darren Aronofsky | Filmmaker |
| 2016 | Meryl Streep | Actress |
| 2017 | Paul Verhoeven | Filmmaker |
| 2018 | Tom Tykwer | Filmmaker |
| 2019 | Juliette Binoche | Actress |
| 2020 | Jeremy Irons | Actor |
| 2021 | No jury president | No jury president |
| 2022 | M. Night Shyamalan | Filmmaker |
| 2023 | Kristen Stewart | Actress |
| 2024 | Lupita Nyong'o | Actress |
| 2025 | Todd Haynes | Filmmaker |