The 53rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 6–16, 2003.

[2] The festival opened with musical film Chicago by Rob Marshall and closed with Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, both films played out of competition at the festival.

[3][4][5] The Golden Bear was awarded to In This World directed by Michael Winterbottom.

[6] The retrospective dedicated to German film director F. W. Murnau was shown at the festival.

[7] The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:[8] The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear and Silver Bear awards:[1] The following films were shown in the retrospective:[10] The following prizes were awarded by the Jury:[6][11]