Golden Bear facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Golden Bear
2025 recipient: Dag Johan Haugerud
Presented by	Berlin International Film Festival
Location	Berlin
Country	Germany
First awarded	1951

The Golden Bear (which is Goldener Bär in German) is the top award given to the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. It's one of the most important film awards in the world, like the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion. The bear is a special animal for the city of Berlin, and you can see it on their city's coat of arms and flag.

History of the Golden Bear

The Golden Bear award started in 1951 at the very first Berlin International Film Festival. Back then, a group of judges from West Germany chose five winners. These winners were picked for different types of films, like dramas or comedies.

From 1952 to 1955, the audience members actually got to choose who won the Golden Bear. Imagine getting to pick the best movie yourself!

In 1956, a big international film group called FIAPF officially recognized the festival. Since then, a special international jury, made up of film experts from around the world, has chosen the Golden Bear winners.

About the Award Statuette

The Golden Bear award is a cool statuette that looks like a bear standing on its back legs. This design was created in 1932 by a German artist named Renée Sintenis. It was inspired by Berlin's official bear symbol and later became the main symbol for the film festival.

The statuette has been made by an art company called Hermann Noack since the early days of the festival. In 1960, the award was made a bit bigger and the bear's left arm was raised instead of its right.

Today, the bear statuette is about 20 centimeters (almost 8 inches) tall. It stands on a base where the name of the winning film is carved. The bear is made of bronze and then covered with a layer of gold. The whole award weighs about 4 kilograms (around 9 pounds).

Famous Golden Bear Winners

Many amazing films and directors have won the Golden Bear over the years. Here are some of the famous winners:

Gene Kelly won for Invitation to the Dance (1956)

Ingmar Bergman won for Wild Strawberries (1958)

Pier Paolo Pasolini won for The Canterbury Tales (1972)

Satyajit Ray won for Distant Thunder (1973)

Rainer Werner Fassbinder won for Veronika Voss (1982)

John Cassavetes won for Love Streams (1983)

Ang Lee won twice for The Wedding Banquet (1993) and Sense and Sensibility (1996)

Asghar Farhadi won for A Separation (2011)

Jafar Panahi won for Taxi (2015)

Adina Pintilie won for Touch Me Not (2018)

Carla Simón won for Alcarràs (2022)

Nicolas Philibert won for On the Adamant (2023)

Mati Diop won for Dahomey (2024)

Directors Who Won More Than Once

As of 2025, Ang Lee is the only filmmaker who has won the Golden Bear award twice! He won for his films The Wedding Banquet in 1993 and Sense and Sensibility in 1996.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Oso de oro para niños

• Honorary Golden Bear
• Silver Bear and other awards at the Berlin International Film Festival
• Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival
• Golden Lion, the highest prize awarded at the Venice Film Festival