Silver Bears of Berlinale

The Berlin International Film Festival is an annual film event held in Berlin, Germany. Though it is the largest film festival to be attended by the public with recent record of 450,000 admissions, somehow, it doesn't generate as much buzz as the Academy Awards or the Cannes International Film Festival. You will probably remember Million Dollar Baby winning the 2004 Best Picture Oscar or Pulp Fiction winning the Palme d'Or in 1994 but you will be hard pressed to remember Tuya's Marriage which won the Golden Bear in 2007.

Still, the Berlin International Film Festival or Berlinale in short, is an important platform for film makers around the world. While the selection is less main stream, it doesn't mean that the quality of the films is lacking. In fact, some of the greatest film makers and thespians have been discovered in Berlinale.

The Golden Bear is awarded for the Best Motion Picture of the festival and there are also the Silver Bears which are awarded for Jury Grand Prix, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Film Music, Extraordinary Achievement by A Single Artist, and Grand Prize of the Jury. In appearance, the Golden and Silver Bears are rather "Pooh". In a passive pose, they are neither roaring nor threatening. The Bears signify a festival of fun where competition is secondary.  

The Silver Bear for Jury Grand Prix is awarded to the runner-up Best Motion Picture at the festival. Sometimes, it's shared, like in 2009 when Alle Anderen and Gigante won the prize. The Silver Bears for Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress are awarded for outstanding achievements in those categories. Some of the notable winners of these Silver Bears are Akira Kurosawa, Oliver Stone, Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Shirley MacLaine, Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Juliette Binoche. Past winners of the Silver Bears for Best Screenplay and Best Film Music are In Love We Trust, The Messenger, Isabella, and Hallam Foe. The Silver Bear for Extraordinary Achievement by A Single Artist is a curious one. Two such winners are Fanny Ardant and Tsai Ming Liang. Finally, the Silver Bear for Grand Prize of the Jury is given to short films. 

For film lovers who prefer flavor over popularity, the Silver Bears reflect their sentiments more accurately than the more glamorous awards. However, it's unlikely that there are significant amounts of silver in those Silver Bears. For people who want to sell silver, there's not a better time to go to a reputable silver buyer. Here, you can get the top rates for silver.