Oscar Martay

Oscar Martay (1920-1995) was the person who, through his role of a film officer of the US Army, proposed the idea and used his influence to persuade the American Military to fund the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) which was founded in 1951.
During the peak of the Cold War in 1950, Oscar Martay, who was stationed in Berlin as a film officer of the Information Service Branch of the American High Commissioner for Germany, suggested the foundation of the Berlin International Film Festival. The proposal was put through a committee including members of the Senate of Berlin and people from the German film industry on October 9, 1950. Through his efforts and influence, the American military administration was persuaded to assist and to give loans for the first years of the Berlinale which held the first festival in June 1951.
The Berlinale recognized his role and he was one of the people who received the Golden Bear award in 1951.
When Martay left the Army, he worked in film production in Germany.

Personal life

In 1955, he married Renate Barken, a German actress. He died in 1995.