58th Berlin International Film Festival
The 58th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 7 to February 17, 2008. The festival opened with Martin Scorsese's documentary film Shine a Light. Be Kind Rewind by Michel Gondry served as the closing film. Greek filmmaker Costa Gavras, was selected to serve as the Jury President for the main competition.
The Golden Bear was awarded to Elite Squad directed by José Padilha. The retrospective dedicated to Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel was shown at the festival.
Juries
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:Main Competition
- Costa-Gavras, Greek filmmaker and producer - Jury President
- Uli Hanisch, German production designer
- Diane Kruger, German actress
- Walter Murch, American director and editor
- Shu Qi, Taiwanese actress and model
- Alexander Rodnyansky, Russian producer
Best First Feature Award Jury
- Ben Barenholtz, American producer and distributor
- Dominique Cabrera, French filmmaker
- Jasmila Žbanić, Bosnian filmmaker and producer
Short Film Competition Jury
- Marc Barbé, French actor and director
- Ada Solomon, Romanian producer
- Laura Tonke, German actress
Official Sections
Main Competition
The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:Official Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:Main Competition
- Golden Bear: Elite Squad by José Padilha
- Silver Bear Grand Prize of the Jury: Standard Operating Procedure by Errol Morris
- Silver Bear for Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood
- Silver Bear for Best Actor: Reza Naji for The Song of Sparrows
- Silver Bear for Best Actress: Sally Hawkins for Happy-Go-Lucky
- Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Wang Xiaoshuai for In Love We TrustSilver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Jonny Greenwood for There Will Be Blood
- Alfred Bauer Prize: Fernando Eimbcke for ''Lake Tahoe''
Independent Awards
FIPRESCI Award">International Federation of Film Critics#FIPRESCI Award">FIPRESCI Award
- Fernando Eimbcke for ''Lake Tahoe''