Since 1986, the Berlin International Film Festival has presented the Berlinale Camera to film personalities or institutions to which it feels particularly indebted and wishes to express its thanks.

At the 61st Berlin International Film Festival Israeli film pioneer Lia van Leer, outgoing president of ARTE Jérôme Clément as well as Berlin's arthouse cinema owners Franz and Rosemarie Stadler will be awarded Berlinale Cameras.

In the 1950s, Lia van Leer had already developed a distinct passion for international cinema. Together with her husband Wim, she launched several film clubs and founded the Israel Film Archive in 1960, followed by the Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Cinematheques and many more initiatives. In 1984 she started the Jerusalem Film Festival, which she heads until today. Among many awards she received the prestigious Israel Prize in 2004 for her lifetime achievements and special contribution to society and the State of Israel. Lia van Leer has been a guest of the Berlinale several times and presided over the International Jury in 1995. In 2003, at the first Berlinale Talent Campus, she served as mentor of this new initiative. The Berlinale Camera will be awarded to Lia van Leer on February 13 at 11.00 am at Kino International.

As founding and long-standing president of ARTE, Jérôme Clément shaped the image of this German-French cultural television station. After studying at two elite universities, Clément worked at the French Ministry of Culture as of 1980 and later in close association with François Mitterand. In 1989 he was appointed president of the newly founded German-French television station. Over his 20-year term, he contributed decisively to the success of this intercultural project. In France, Jérôme Clément, who has also made a name for himself as a book author, has received several orders of knighthood and the National Cross of Merit. On February 14, 2011 at 5.30 pm, Jérôme Clément will be awarded the Berlinale Camera at ARTE's reception in the Akademie der Künste (Academy of Arts) at Pariser Platz.

For almost forty years Franz and Rosemarie Stadler ran the filmkunst 66, a multi-prize-winning arthouse cinema in Berlin Charlottenburg. In 1971 Franz Stadler took over the two-theatre cinema in the Bleibtreustraße and before long the sophisticated programme he put together established it as one of one of the most important institutions for independent cinema in Berlin. Stadler also initiated a number of film festivals - some based on specific genres, others on specific themes - and was awarded Germany's Federal Cross of Merit for his services to cinema. On February 15, 2011, Franz and Rosemarie Stadler will receive their Berlinale Camera.

Since 2004, the Berlinale Camera has been sponsored and manufactured by the Düsseldorf-based goldsmith Georg Hornemann. The trophy was redesigned for the Berlinale in 2008. Modelled on a real camera, it now has 128 components. From swivel head to tripod it has been crafted and assembled with great artistry, and many of its silver and titanium parts are movable.