29th Berlin International Film Festival
The 29th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February – 3 March 1979. The Golden Bear was awarded to the West German film David directed by Peter Lilienthal.
Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter was surrounded of controversy as it was accused of racist and several countries decided to withdraw their films from the festival in protest. The retrospective was dedicated to Italian actor Rudolph Valentino and to another one titled "We Danced Around the World. Revue Films".
Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:- Jörn Donner, writer, director, screenwriter, actor and producer - Jury President
- Julie Christie, actress
- Romain Gary, writer and screenwriter
- Ingrid Caven, actress and singer
- Georg Alexander,
- Liliana Cavani, director and screenwriter
- Paul Bartel, actor, director and screenwriter
- Pál Gábor, director and screenwriter
- Věra Chytilová, director and screenwriter
Films in competition
| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| A ménesgazda | András Kovács | Hungary | |
| Albert - Why? | Albert - warum? | Josef Rödl | West Germany |
| David | David | Peter Lilienthal | West Germany |
| The Marriage of Maria Braun | Die Ehe der Maria Braun | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | West Germany |
| The First Polka | Die erste Polka | Klaus Emmerich | West Germany |
| Origins of a Meal | Genèse d'un repas | Luc Moullet | France |
| Heart of the Forest | El corazón del bosque | Manuel Gutiérrez Aragón | Spain |
| Ernesto | Ernesto | Salvatore Samperi | Italy |
| Hardcore | Paul Schrader | USA | |
| Alexandria... Why? | إسكندرية ليه Iskanderija... lih? | Youssef Chahine | Egypt |
| Kassbach – Ein Porträt | Peter Patzak | Austria | |
| Kejsaren | Jösta Hagelbäck | Sweden | |
| The Adolescent | L'Adolescente | Jeanne Moreau | France |
| Love on the Run | L'amour en fuite | François Truffaut | France |
| Meetings with Remarkable Men | Peter Brook | United Kingdom | |
| Messidor | Messidor | Alain Tanner | Switzerland |
| Movie Movie | Stanley Donen | USA | |
| The Deer Hunter | Michael Cimino | USA | |
| Nosferatu the Vampyre | Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht | Werner Herzog | West Germany |
| Parashuram | পরশুরাম Parashuram | Mrinal Sen | India |
| Phantom | and | West Germany | |
| Ubu | Geoff Dunbar | United Kingdom | |
| Winterborn | Vinterbørn | Astrid Henning-Jensen | Denmark |
Out of competition
- Het verloren paradijs, directed by Harry Kümel
Key
Retrospective
The following films were shown in the retrospective dedicated to Rudolph Valentino:| English title | Original title | Director | Country |
| All Night | Paul Powell | USA | |
| Blood and Sand | Fred Niblo | USA | |
| Eyes of Youth | Albert Parker | USA | |
| Monsieur Beaucaire | Sidney Olcott | USA | |
| Moran of the Lady Letty | George Melford | USA | |
| The Conquering Power | Rex Ingram | USA | |
| The Eagle | Clarence Brown | USA | |
| The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse | Rex Ingram | USA | |
| The Sheik | George Melford | USA | |
| The Son of the Sheik | George Fitzmaurice | USA | |
| The Wonderful Chance | George Archainbaud | USA |
Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:- Golden Bear: David by Peter Lilienthal
- Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: Iskanderija... lih? by Youssef Chahine
- Silver Bear for Best Director: Astrid Henning-Jensen for Vinterbørn
- Silver Bear for Best Actress: Hanna Schygulla for Die Ehe der Maria Braun
- Silver Bear for Best Actor: Michele Placido for Ernesto!
- Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement:
- * Henning von Gierke for Nosferatu the Vampyre
- * Sten Holmberg for Kejsaren
- Silver Bear: Die Ehe der Maria Braun