The 36th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held 14–25 February 1986.

[3] The Golden Bear was awarded to West German film Stammheim directed by Reinhard Hauff.

[4] The retrospective was in honour of German actress and film producer Henny Porten and the homage was dedicated to American film director Fred Zinnemann.

[5] Claude Lanzmann's 9 hour long documentary film Shoah about The Holocaust was screened at the Young Filmmakers Forum (renamed the International Forum of New Cinema in 1987).

[2] The following people were announced as being on the jury for the festival:[6] The following films were in competition for the Golden Bear:[1] The following films were shown in the retrospective in honour of Henny Porten:[7] The following films were shown in the homage dedicated to Fred Zinnemann:[7] The film Le Brasier ardent by Ivan Mosjoukine and Alexandre Volkoff was also shown in the retrospective as a tribute to the Cinémathèque Française for its 50th anniversary.