The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14âÂÂ25 February 1986. The festival opened with Ginger and Fred by Federico Fellini, which played out of competition at the festival.
The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film Stammheim directed by Reinhard Hauff. The retrospective was in honour of German actress and film producer Henny Porten and the homage was dedicated to American film director Fred Zinnemann. Claude Lanzmann's 9 hour long documentary film Shoah about The Holocaust was screened at the Young Filmmakers Forum (renamed the International Forum of New Cinema in 1987).
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear:
The following films were shown in the retrospective in honour of Henny Porten:
The following films were shown in the homage dedicated to Fred Zinnemann:
The film Le Brasier ardent by Ivan Mosjoukine and Alexandre Volkoff was also shown in the retrospective as a tribute to the Cinémathèque Française for its 50th anniversary.
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury: