The award ceremony for the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, the Berlinale, has kicked off in Berlin.
This 2026 competition jury, headed by legendary German director Wim Wenders, will announce the winners of this year’s Gold and Silver Bears.
You can watch the livestream of the awards ceremony on the Berlinale’s YouTube channel.
The selection for this year’s Berlinale is broadly considered to have been one of the best in years, with several competition titles getting critical raves, and few out-and-out pans. But there are no clear frontrunners going into tonight’s event.
Despite the festival’s attempt to keep the focus on the movies, politics and social media outrage has often been the story of the 2026 Berlinale, with directors and talent fielding questions about Gaza, Donald Trump and the rise of the far-right.
Jury president Wenders came under attack online after making the comment that filmmakers “have to stay out of politics.” The comment was broadly interpreted as a call for political neutrality, although even the briefest look at Wenders’ life and filmography makes clear he has also been a politically-engaged artist and citizen.
Opening this year’s awards ceremony, Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle addressed the subject head-on. She said this year’s festival “felt raw and fractured,” with many arriving in Berlin “with grief and anger and urgency about the world that takes place outside the cinema walls.” That grief, that anger and that urgency, she said is “real and belongs in our community. We hear you.” Tuttle noted that while the festival has been “publicly challenged” by the events of the past 10 days, “that is good thing. It didn’t always feel good, but t is good because it means the Berlinale matters to people.”
Tuttle concluded her remarks noting that the festival needs to acknowledge that “we are living in a polarized moment,” that “criticism and speaking up is part of democracy and so is disagreement,” but that the Berlinale will continue to welcome everyone to share in the debate and disagreement.
“If this year has been emotionally charged, that is not a failure of the Berlinale and cinema,” she said. “That is the Berlinale doing its job and cinema doing its job.”
Syrian director Ameer Fakher Eldin (The Stranger), head of this year’s Berlinale Short Film Jury, also addressed this year’s controversies, arguing that artists and filmmakers “must insist on complexity” and not be reduced to polemic politics.
“A festival space should not function like a parliamentary floor,” he said. “Some artists speak through their statements, which is ok. Others speak through the long arc of their work, like you Mr. Wenders. Both artists can and must co-exist.”
Wenders has been quiet since those comments but his and his jury’s decisions tonight are certain to send a message.
Winners of the 2026 Berlinale:
GOLDEN BEAR FOR BEST FILM
SILVER BEAR GRAND JURY PRIZE
SILVER BEAR JURY PRIZE
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST DIRECTOR
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST LEADING PERFORMANCE
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
SILVER BEAR FOR BEST SCREENPLAY
SILVER BEAR FOR OUTSTANDING ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION
