The 12th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 7 to 21 July 1981. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Brazilian film O Homem que Virou Suco directed by João Batista de Andrade, the Vietnamese film The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone directed by Nguyen Hong Shen and the Soviet-French-Swiss film Teheran 43 directed by Aleksandr Alov and Vladimir Naumov.
Jury
Stanislav Rostotsky (USSR – President of the Jury) Juan Antonio Bardem (Spain) Basu Bhattacharya (India) Jerzy Hoffman (Poland) Jacques Duqeau-Rupp (France) Bata Živojinović (Yugoslavia) Komaki Kurihara (Japan) Jay Leyda (USA) Miguel Littín (Chile) László Lugossy (Hungary) Nelson Pereira dos Santos (Brazil) Gian Luigi Rondi (Italy) Olzhas Suleimenov (USSR) Med Hondo (Mauritania) Lyudmila Chursina (USSR)
Films in competition
The following films were selected for the main competition:
Awards
Golden Prizes: O Homem que Virou Suco by João Batista de Andrade The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone by Nguyen Hong Shen Teheran 43 by Aleksandr Alov, Vladimir Naumov Silver Prizes: Temporary Paradise by András Kovács Belønningen by Bjørn Lien Muddy River by Kōhei Oguri Special Prizes: Ali in Wonderland by Ahmed Rachedi Yo Ho Ho by Zako Heskiya Ta chvíle, ten okamžik by Jiří Sequens Peacetime in Paris by Predrag Golubović Prizes: Best Actor: Karl Merkatz for Der Bockerer Best Actor: Tito Junco for Guardafronteras Best Actor: Roman Wilhelmi for The Moth Best Actress: Mercedes Sampietro for Gary Cooper, Who Art in Heaven Best Actress: Maya-Gozel Aimedova for Tree Dzhamal Special Diplomas: The Man with the Carnation by Nikos Tzimas El caso Huayanay by Federico García Morning Undersea by Lauro António The Pale Light of Sorrow by Iulian Mihu Night by the Seashore by Erkko Kivikoski Diploma: Young Actor: Viktor Chouchkov for Yo Ho Ho Prix FIPRESCI: The Abandoned Field: Free Fire Zone by Nguyen Hong Shen