'''Panorama''': comprende film d'autore, pellicole indipendenti e documentari inediti che trattano soggetti controversi o stili estetici non convenzionali. I film della categoria sono destinati a provocare discussioni e hanno storicamente coinvolto temi come i problemi LGBT.
All films in Panorama celebrate their world or European premiere. The Panorama presents its films in three series with different profiles: Panorama main programme (around 18 feature films for a broad art house audience), Panorama Dokumente (a series of about 16 documentary films from around the world on social and current issues, in-depth reportage, music documentaries or artist portraits), Panorama Special (about 14 independent productions and films from the US majors).
The Panorama grew out of the “Info-Schau”, a programme that complimented the Berlinale Competition in the 1970s. In 1980, Manfred Salzgeber – one of the most important innovators in the Berlin art house cinema scene in the 1970s and co-initiator of the International Forum for New Cinema – was given the job of shaping the content. In 1982 Salzgeber added Wieland Speck to his team and developed a programme that addressed societal struggles and new aesthetic approaches and that never shied away from uncomfortable films. In 1986 the section was renamed Panorama. Since 1992, the section has been headed by Wieland Speck, who continues in the spirit of his predecessor with regards to the section content. His goal is to take quality independent film out of its niche into the spotlight of the international market. Panorama has been dedicated to gay, lesbian and transgender film since the 1980s. From the very beginning, Panorama has given short film a great deal of attention and presented roughly 25 shorts in its programme every year. Short films are often aesthetically challenging and are a way to discover fresh talents early on in their career. At the Berlinale 2007, the passionate Panorama short film work was moved to the new Berlinale Shorts section, which was created in cooperation with the Berlinale Competition.
Eligible films for Panorama are feature films and documentaries of at least 70 minutes running time which have not been released in Europe other than in their country of origin. The curator of the Panorama is responsible to the Festival Director for the selection of films. Films offered to the Competition may be considered for the Panorama unless specifically stated otherwise. All films invited to the Festival are screened in their original version with English subtitles.
'''Forum''': fondato alla fine degli anni sessanta come contraltare alla ''Berlinale'', il "Forum internazionale del nuovo cinema" è diventato parte integrante del Festival negli anni settanta e ogni anno propone film sperimentali e documentari provenienti da tutto il mondo, con particolare attenzione alle opere dei giovani registi, oltre a dibattiti e workshop.<ref name="berlinale.forum">{{Cita web|url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/sektionen_sonderveranstaltungen/forum/index.html|titolo=Forum|editore=www.berlinale.de|accesso=4 maggio 2017}}</ref>
