BEIJING, Feb. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events held in Berlin, Germany.

    Established by the Americans who occupied part of Berlin after the Second World War, it was started in 1951 as an attempt to bring back some of the culture and romance that had been synonymous with the city during the Golden Twenties. The festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 230,000 tickets sold and over 430,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide. Up to 400 films are shown in several sections, representing a comprehensive array of the cinematic world.

    The most important prizes at the Berlinale are the Golden and Silver Bears. These are awarded by the International Jury to films in the Competition and belong to the most respected awards in the world of film. The International Jury also awards the Alfred Bauer Prize for a film that “opens new perspectives in the art of filmmaking.”

      · Golden Bear 

        · Best Motion Picture 
        · Lifetime Achievement ("Honorary Golden Bear") 

      · Silver Bear 

        · Jury Grand Prix 
        · Best Director 
        · Best Actor 
        · Best Actress 
        · Best Screenplay 
        · Best film music 
        · Extraordinary achievement by a single artist 
        · Grand Prize of the Jury (Short film award) 

    There are also independent prizes. A number of independent juries award several different prizes. Several of them focus on a particular section of the festival. The independent prizes include the FIPRESCI Prizes, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, the Teddy Award and others.

Berlinale Talent Campus

    Commencing in 2003, the Berlinale has partnered with the Berlinale Talent Campus, which is a winter school for "up and coming filmmakers" that takes place at the same time as the Festival itself. The Talent Campus accepts about 350 applicants each year; the attendees come from around the world, and represent all of the filmmaking professions.

Chinese films & Berlinale

    Since the late 1980s, Chinese films have began to win awards at he Berlin Film Festival. Zhang Yimou's film "Red Sorghum" won the 1988 Golden Bear award, and "Tuya's Marriage," a film about a woman and her life in the steppes of Inner Mongolia, won the top honor, the Golden Bear at the festival in 2007. Later, Chinese director and screenwriter Wang Xiaoshuai has picked up his second Silver Bear at the 58th Berlin Film Festival in 2008, winning the best screenplay prize for "In Love We Trust."  The Peking Opera-centered "Forever Enthralled" is the only Chinese-language film in competition for the Golden Bear in for this year's Berlin Film Festival, the top honor at the festival.