60th Edition of Berlinale Begins

Kicking off on 11 February, the annual Berlin Film Festival, also known as Berlinale, will showcase hundreds of films in cinemas across the city until 21 February.

This year, there are twenty international films in competition for the coveted Golden Bear award including the much-anticipated latest effort of controversial Polish-French director Roman Polanski. His The Ghost Writer, is based on a novel by Robert Harris entitled The Ghost and stars Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. This film is a joint production between the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Other German films in competition this year include Benjamin Heisenberg's Der Rauber, Oskar Roehler's Jew Suss - Rise and Fall (with Austria), Jasmila Zbanic's Na putu (with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Croatia), and Burhan Qurbani's Shahada. The film festival will also feature the classic Fritz Lang film Metropolis in its newest state - with a recently discovered additional 30 minutes of footage.

The jury this year is headed by renowned German New Wave director Werner Herzog and will also include Francesca Comencini, Nuruddin Farah, Cornelia Froboess, Jos? Maria Morales, Yu Nan, and Ren?e Zellweger.

For more details on screening schedules and ticket information head to the official Berlinale website here.