The 31st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1981. The Golden Bear was awarded to Deprisa, deprisa directed by Carlos Saura.
The retrospective was dedicated to British film producer Michael Balcon, as well a tribute to Turkish film director Yñlmaz Güney who was a political prisoner at the time. The guest of the Homage was German film director Peter Pewas.
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear award:
The following films were shown in the retrospective dedicated to Michael Balcon:
The following films were shown in the homage dedicated to Peter Pewas:
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury: