6th Berlin International Film Festival


The 6th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1956. The FIAPF granted the festival the "A status" during this year, which was previously only reserved for Cannes and Venice. The awards for the first time, were given by an international jury.
Golden Bear was awarded to Invitation to the Dance directed by Gene Kelly. However, this decision by the jury was widely criticized as the fil was considered "too shallow" for a Golden Bear. The favourite among many critics was the Finnish entry Tuntematon sotilas by Edvin Laine, which was an anti-war film without any illusions based on a novel by Väinö Linna.

Jury

The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
International feature film jury
International documentary and short jury
The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear awards:

Key

Awards

The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:
International jury awards
Documentaries and short films jury awards
Hitit güneşi by Sabahattin Eyüboğlu
Spring Comes to Kashmir by Ravi Prakash
Rythmetic by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart
...erwachsen sein dagegen sehr by Wolf Hart
Le Sabotier du Val de Loire by Jacques Demy
The Long Journey by Geoffrey Collings
Independent jury awards
Audience vote