46th Berlin International Film Festival

The 46th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1996. The Golden Bear was awarded to Sense and Sensibility directed by Ang Lee.

The retrospective dedicated to American film director, producer and screenwriter William Wyler was shown at the festival.

Main Competition
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
 * Nikita Mikhalkov, Russian actor, filmmaker and producer - Jury President
 * Gila Almagor, Israeli actress and writer
 * Vincenzo Cerami, Italian writer, screenwriter and playwright
 * Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress and director
 * Ann Hui, Hong Kong filmmaker
 * Peter Lilienthal, German filmmaker
 * Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
 * Claude Rich, French actor
 * Fay Weldon, British writer and playwright
 * Catherine Wyler, American producer and artistic director
 * Christian Zeender, Swiss musician

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

Main Competition
The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:
 * Golden Bear: Sense and Sensibility by Ang Lee
 * Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: All Things Fair by Bo Widerberg
 * Silver Bear for Best Director:
 * Yim Ho for Taiyang you er
 * Richard Loncraine for Richard III
 * Silver Bear for Best Actress: Anouk Grinberg for My Man
 * Silver Bear for Best Actor: Sean Penn for Dead Man Walking
 * Silver Bear for an Outstanding Single Achievement: Yōichi Higashi for Village of Dreams
 * Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution: Andrzej Wajda for Holy Week
 * Alfred Bauer Prize: Strangled Lives
 * Honourable Mention:
 * Mahjong by Edward Yang
 * Silent Night by Dani Levy
 * Sun Valley by He Ping

Honorary Golden Bear

 * Jack Lemmon
 * Elia Kazan

Berlinale Camera

 * Tschingis Aitmatov
 * Jodie Foster
 * Sally Field
 * Astrid Henning-Jensen
 * Volker Noth

Blue Angel Award

 * All Things Fair by Bo Widerberg

FIPRESCI Award

 * The Sun Has Ears by Yim Ho