61st Berlin International Film Festival

The 61st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 10 to February 20, 2011, with actress Isabella Rossellini as the President of the Jury. The Coen Brothers film True Grit opened the festival. 300,000 tickets were sold in total during the event, to 20,000 attendees from 116 countries, including 3900 members of the press. German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl received the Honorary Golden Bear for lifetime achievement. The Golden Bear for Best Film went to the Iranian film Nader and Simin, A Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, which also served as the closing film at the festival.