49th Berlin International Film Festival

The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with Aimée & Jaguar by Max Färberböck.

The Golden Bear was awarded to The Thin Red Line directed by Terrence Malick.

The retrospective dedicated to Austrian-American theatre and film director Otto Preminger. 70 mm version of Preminger's 1959 musical film Porgy and Bess served as the closing night film.

Jury
The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:
 * Ángela Molina, Spanish actress - Jury President
 * Ken Adam, British production designer
 * Paulo Branco, Portuguese producer and actor
 * Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, filmmaker and producer
 * Pierre-Henri Deleau, French actor and producer
 * Katja von Garnier, German filmmaker
 * Hellmuth Karasek, German journalist, writer and film critic
 * Michelle Yeoh, Malaysian actress

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: The Thin Red Line by Terrence Malick
 * Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize: Mifune by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen
 * Silver Bear for Best Director: Stephen Frears for The Hi-Lo Country
 * Silver Bear for Best Actress: Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler for Aimée & Jaguar
 * Silver Bear for Best Actor: Michael Gwisdek for Nachtgestalten
 * Alfred Bauer Prize: Karnaval by Thomas Vincent
 * Silver Bear for an Outstanding Single Achievement: Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard for Shakespeare in Love
 * Silver Bear for an Outstanding Artistic Contribution: David Cronenberg for eXistenZ
 * Honourable Mention:
 * Iben Hjejle for Mifune
 * Ça commence aujourd'hui
 * John Toll for The Thin Red Line

Honorary Golden Bear

 * Shirley MacLaine

Berlinale Camera

 * Armen Medvedjev
 * Meryl Streep
 * Robert Rodriguez

Blue Angel Award

 * Journey to the Sun by Yeşim Ustaoğlu

FIPRESCI Award

 * It All Starts Today by Bertrand Tavernier