37th Berlin International Film Festival

The 37th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February to 3 March 1987. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet film Tema, directed by Gleb Panfilov.

The retrospective was in honour of Armenian-American film and theatre director Rouben Mamoulian. The homage was dedicated to French couple Jean-Louis Barrault, actor and director, and Madeleine Renaud, actress. It was titled Renaud-Barrault au cinéma.

Main Competition
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
 * Klaus Maria Brandauer, Austrian actor - Jury President
 * Juliet Berto, French actress and filmmaker
 * Kathleen Carroll, American film critic
 * Callisto Cosulich, Italian film critic
 * Victor Dyomin, Soviet actor and screenwriter
 * Reinhard Hauff, German filmmaker
 * Edmund Luft, West-German playwright, film critic and film historian
 * Jiří Menzel, Czech actor and filmmaker
 * Dan Pița, Romanian filmmaker
 * Paul Schrader, American filmmaker and film critic
 * Antonio Skármeta, Chilean writer

Main Competition
The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear:

Out of competition

 * Farewell, directed by Elem Klimov (Soviet Union)
 * The Color of Money, directed by Martin Scorsese (United States)
 * A Chronicle of Amorous Accidents, directed by Andrzej Wajda (Poland)
 * The Little Prosecutor, directed by Hark Bohm (West Germany)
 * Light of Day, directed by Paul Schrader (United States)
 * Ein Treffen mit Rimbaud, directed by Ernst-August Zurborn (West Germany)
 * True Stories, directed by David Byrne (United States)

Retrospective
The following films were shown in the retrospective dedicated to Rouben Mamoulian:

The following films were shown in the homage titled "Renaud-Barrault au cinéma" dedicated to Jean-Louis Barrault and Madeleine Renaud:

Official Awards
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:
 * Golden Bear: The Theme by Gleb Panfilov
 * Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: The Sea and Poison by Kei Kumai
 * Silver Bear for Best Director: Oliver Stone for Platoon
 * Silver Bear for Best Actress: Ana Beatriz Nogueira for Vera
 * Silver Bear for Best Actor: Gian Maria Volonté for The Moro Affair
 * Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement:
 * Márta Mészáros for Diary for My Lovers
 * Fernando Trueba for Year of Enlightment
 * Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic contribution: Children of a Lesser God
 * Alfred Bauer Prize: Mauvais Sang

FIPRESCI Award

 * The Theme by Gleb Panfilov