28th Berlin International Film Festival


The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 February to 5 March 1978. Director Wolf Donner successfully managed to shift the festival's date from June to February, a change which has remained ever since. This was the first year the festival was held in February. The festival opened with Opening Night by John Cassavetes and closed with Steven Spielberg's out of competition film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
The jury awarded the Golden Bear to Spain for its contribution to the festival. The three Spanish films which were screened at the festival and won it were short film Ascensor directed by Tomás Muñoz and feature films La palabras de Max by Emilio Martínez Lázaro and Las truchas by José Luis García Sánchez.
A new section for children was introduced at the festival. The Part 2 of the retrospective dedicated to West German actress Marlene Dietrich was shown at the festival as well as the retrospective called "Censorship – Banned German Films 1933-1945".

Jury

The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear award:
English titleOriginal titleDirectorCountry
The FallA QuedaRuy Guerra and Nelson XavierBrazil
My Father's Happy YearsApám néhány boldog éveSándor SimóHungary
AdvantageАвантаж AvantazhGeorgi DjulgerovBulgaria
Lone WolfБирю́к BiryukRoman BalayanSoviet Union
The Brothers LionheartBröderna LejonhjärtaOlle HellbomSweden
Co jsme udělali slepicímJosef Hekrdle and Vladimír JiránekCzechoslovakia
The ContraptionJames DeardenUnited Kingdom
Germany in AutumnDeutschland im HerbstAlf Brustellin, Hans Peter Cloos, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alexander Kluge, Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus, Maximiliane Mainka, Edgar Reitz, Katja Rupé, Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Schubert and Bernhard SinkelWest Germany
The TeacherEl brigadistaOctavio CortázarCuba
אסקימו לימון‎ Eskimo LimonBoaz DavidsonIsrael
Flaming HeartsFlammende HerzenWalter Bockmayer and Rolf BührmannWest Germany
Paper FlowersFlores de papelGabriel RetesMexico
Jörg Ratgeb – PainterJörg Ratgeb – MalerBernhard StephanEast Germany
A Night Full of RainLa fine del mondo nel nostro solito letto in una notte piena di pioggiaLina WertmüllerItaly, USA
AscensorTomás MuñozSpain
What Max SaidLa palabras de MaxEmilio Martínez-LázaroSpain
TroutLas truchasJosé Luis García SánchezSpain
Moritz, Dear MoritzMoritz, lieber MoritzHark BohmWest Germany
Opening NightJohn CassavetesUSA
Outrageous!Richard BennerCanada
The Dog Who Loved TrainsPas koji je voleo vozoveGoran PaskaljevićYugoslavia
RhinegoldNiklaus SchillingWest Germany
The Serpent's EggIngmar BergmanUSA, West Germany
Shatranj Ke KhilariSatyajit RayIndia
Death of a PresidentŚmierć prezydentaJerzy KawalerowiczPoland
The Far Road遠い一本の道 Toi ippon no michiSachiko HidariJapan
One Page of LoveUne page d'amourMaurice RabinowiczBelgium, France
Une vieille soupièreMichel LonguetFrance

Out of competition

Retrospective

The following films were shown in the retrospective dedicated to Marlene Dietrich :
English titleOriginal titleDirectorCountry
AngelErnst LubitschUSA
Louis Clyde StoumenUSA
Destry Rides AgainGeorge MarshallUSA
DesireFrank BorzageUSA
Leap Into LifeDer Sprung ins LebenJohannes GuterGermany
The Woman One Longs ForDie Frau, nach der man sich sehntCurtis BernhardtGermany
KismetWilliam DieterleUSA
No Highway in the SkyHenry KosterUnited Kingdom
Rancho NotoriousFritz LangUSA
The Flame of New OrleansRené ClairUSA
The Garden of AllahRichard BoleslawskiUSA
Touch of EvilOrson WellesUSA

Awards

The following prizes were awarded by the Jury: