12th Moscow International Film Festival

The 12th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1981. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Brazilian film O Homem que Virou Suco directed by João Batista de Andrade, the Vietnamese film The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone directed by Nguyễn Hồng Sến and the Soviet-French-Swiss film Teheran 43 directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov.

Jury

 * Stanislav Rostotsky (USSR – President of the Jury)
 * Juan Antonio Bardem (Spain)
 * Basu Bhattacharya (India)
 * Jerzy Hoffman (Poland)
 * Jacques Duqeau-Rupp (France)
 * Bata Živojinović (Yugoslavia)
 * Komaki Kurihara (Japan)
 * Jay Leyda (USA)
 * Miguel Littín (Chile)
 * László Lugossy (Hungary)
 * Nelson Pereira dos Santos (Brazil)
 * Gian Luigi Rondi (Italy)
 * Olzhas Suleimenov (USSR)
 * Med Hondo (Mauritania)
 * Lyudmila Chursina (USSR)
 * Marcela Fernandez Violante (Mexico)

Films in competition
The following films were selected for the main competition:

Awards

 * Golden Prizes:
 * O Homem que Virou Suco by João Batista de Andrade
 * The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone by Nguyễn Hồng Sến
 * Teheran 43 by Aleksandr Alov, Vladimir Naumov
 * Silver Prizes:
 * Temporary Paradise by András Kovács
 * Belønningen by Bjørn Lien
 * Muddy River by Kōhei Oguri
 * Special Prizes:
 * Ali in Wonderland by Ahmed Rachedi
 * Yo Ho Ho by Zako Heskiya
 * Ta chvíle, ten okamžik by Jiří Sequens
 * Peacetime in Paris by Predrag Golubović
 * Prizes:
 * Best Actor: Karl Merkatz for Der Bockerer
 * Best Actor: Tito Junco for Guardafronteras
 * Best Actor: Roman Wilhelmi for The Moth
 * Best Actress: Mercedes Sampietro for Gary Cooper, Who Art in Heaven
 * Best Actress: Maya-Gozel Aimedova for Tree Dzhamal
 * Special Diplomas:
 * The Man with the Carnation by Nikos Tzimas
 * El caso Huayanay by Federico García
 * Morning Undersea by Lauro António
 * The Pale Light of Sorrow by Iulian Mihu
 * Night by the Seashore by Erkko Kivikoski
 * Diploma:
 * Young Actor: Viktor Chouchkov for Yo Ho Ho
 * Prix FIPRESCI: The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone by Nguyễn Hồng Sến