| Location | Moscow, Soviet Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1959 |
| Awards | Grand Prix |
| Festival date | 9–23 July 1961 |
| Website | http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru |
The 2nd Moscow International Film Festival was held from 9 to 23 July 1961.[1] The Grand Prix was shared between the Japanese film The Naked Island directed by Kaneto Shindo and the Soviet film Clear Skies directed by Grigori Chukhrai.
The following films were selected for the main competition:
| English title | Original title | Director(s) | Production country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alba Regia | Alba Regia | Mihály Szemes | Hungary |
| Das Riesenrad | Das Riesenrad | Géza von Radványi | West Germany |
| Big Request Concert | Das große Wunschkonzert | Arthur Maria Rabenalt | Austria |
| — | Det store varpet | Nils R. Müller | Norway |
| Warriors for Freedom | Pedjuang | Usmar Ismail | Indonesia |
| William Tell | Wilhelm Tell | Michel Dikoff | Switzerland |
| Sunrise at Campobello | — | Vincent J. Donehue | United States |
| The Children of Bullerbyn Village | Alla vi barn i Bullerbyn | Olle Hellbom | Sweden |
| Everybody Go Home | Tutti a casa | Luigi Comencini | Italy, France |
| The Naked Island | Hadaka no shima | Kaneto Shindo | Japan |
| Thirst | Setea | Mircea Drăgan | Romania |
| Enclosure | L'Enclos | Armand Gatti | France, Yugoslavia |
| We Were Young | A byahme mladi | Binka Zhelyazkova | Bulgaria |
| Kukuli | Kukuli | Luis Figueroa, Eulogio Nishiyama, Cesar Villanueva | Peru |
| Kurulubedda | Kurulubedda | L. S. Ramachandran | Ceylon |
| Chaudhvin Ka Chand | Chaudhvin Ka Chand | Mohammed Sadiq | India |
| To My Father in Ulan Bator | Ulaan-Baatart baygaa miniy aavd | Dejidiin Jigjid | Mongolia |
| The Beginning and the End | بداية ونهاية | Salah Abu Seif | Egypt |
| — | Nebeski odred | Bosko Boskovic, Ilija Nikolic | Yugoslavia |
| The Fire on the Second Line | Lửa Trung Tuyến | Phạm Văn Khoa | North Vietnam |
| The Last Winter | Den sidste vinter | Frank Dunlop, Anker Sørensen, Edvin Tiemroth | Denmark, West Germany |
| The Haunted Castle | Das Spukschloß im Spessart | Kurt Hoffmann | West Germany |
| Professor Mamlock | Professor Mamlock | Konrad Wolf | East Germany |
| The Trials of Oscar Wilde | The Trials of Oscar Wilde | Ken Hughes | United Kingdom |
| Stories of the Revolution | Historias de la revolución | Tomás Gutiérrez Alea | Cuba |
| Tumangan River | Tumangan River | Chen San In | North Korea |
| Tonight a City Will Die | Dziś w nocy umrze miasto | Jan Rybkowski | Poland |
| A Revolutionary Family | Geming jiating | Shui Hua | China |
| — | Skandaali tyttökoulussa | Edvin Laine | Finland |
| Juana Gallo | Juana Gallo | Miguel Zacarías | Mexico |
| Fetters | Pouta | Karel Kachyňa | Czechoslovakia |
| Clear Skies | Chistoe nebo | Grigori Chukhrai | Soviet Union |
| This Earth Is Mine | Esta tierra es mía | Hugo del Carril | Argentina |