The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991.^[2] The festival opened with Uranus by Claude Berri.^[2] The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film La casa del sorriso directed by Marco Ferreri.^[3] The retrospective dedicated to Cold War films was shown at the festival.^[4]

The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:^[5]

• Volker Schlöndorff, director, screenwriter and producer (Germany) - Jury President
• Chantal Akerman, director, screenwriter and actress (Belgium)
• Laurie Anderson, musician and writer (United States)
• José Luis Borau, director and screenwriter (Spain)
• Judith Godrèche, actress and writer (France)
• Yuri Klepikov, writer (Soviet Union)
• Renate Krößner, actress (Germany)
• Gillo Pontecorvo, director and screenwriter (Italy)
• Simon Relph, producer (United Kingdom)
• Catharina Stackelberg, screenwriter (Sweden)
• Mircea Veroiu, director and screenwriter (Romania)

The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:^[1]

†	Winner of the main award for best film in its section
The opening and closing films are screened during the opening and closing ceremonies respectively.

The following films were shown in the retrospective:^[7]

The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:^[3]

• Golden Bear: La casa del sorriso by Marco Ferreri
• Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize:
  • La condanna by Marco Bellocchio
  • Satan by Viktor Aristov
• Silver Bear for Best Director:
  • Jonathan Demme for The Silence of the Lambs
  • Ricky Tognazzi for Ultrà
• Silver Bear for Best Actress: Victoria Abril for Amantes
• Silver Bear for Best Actor: Maynard Eziashi for Mister Johnson
• Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement: Kevin Costner for Dances with Wolves
• Honourable Mention
  • Dandan-e-mar
  • Le Petit criminel
  • Li Lianying: The Imperial Eunuch
• FIPRESCI Award
  • Le Petit criminel by Jacques Doillon