What's in store at the Berlinale?

Once again, the heart of the film world will beat in Berlin for 10 days. Myriad new films from around the world will be shown in cinemas all over the city. Film fans can look forward to a total of 1,200 presentations. The 65th Berlin International Film Festival is set to stay true to its reputation as the world's largest public film festival.

The festival will open February 5 with an international co-production. While director Isabel Coixet comes from Spain, French-born Juliette Binoche stars in her new film, "Nobody Wants the Night." Coixet's adventure movie is set in Greenland's icy landscape, but was filmed in Bulgaria, Norway and Spain. A man with a camera also appears on screne: the Irish mime Gabriel Byrne.

An unusually large number of renowned German directors are participating in this year's Berlinale. Festival Director Dieter Kosslick managed to lure stars such as Wim Wenders (pictured), Werner Herzog and Margarethe von Trotta to Berlin. The younger generation will also be present, including directors Andreas Dresen and Oliver Hirschbiegel.

German director Werner Herzog will present his latest film, "Queen of the Desert." Herzog, who has mainly shot in the US over the last few years, represents a growing trend of globalization in the film world. The film by the Bavarian director is a US production with international stars such as Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Damian Lewis, and Robert Pattinson.

With his latest production "Knight of Cups," US star director Terence Malick will participate in the competition for the Golden Bear. Christian Bale plays a man searching for the meaning of life - between luxury, sex and debauchery. Also starring in the film are Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman.

Iranian director Jafar Panahi must make ends meet with a lot less money. His film "Taxi" was produced under difficult conditions. Due to his open criticism of the Iranian government, Panahi has been prohibited from making films - but so far, only in theory. Some Iranian media, however, have already criticized the fact that "Taxi" will be shown in Berlin.

Fairytale fans can lookforward to an elaborate, colorful adaptation of "Cinderella" by British director Kenneth Branagh, produced for Disney. An ensenble of international stars from the filmis bound to cause a stir on the red carpet. "Cinderella" is being sreened out of competition.

As always, numerous films from all over the world will be presented in side shows during the Berlinale. The Forum section will present 43 works; of special interest is "Histoire de Judas," a French production set in the Algerian desert focusing on the origins of Christianity and Judaism.

Next to the competition and the Forum, another important section at the Berlinale is the Panorama. It presents art films, including a documentary on the eccentric German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder by Danish film journalist Christian Braad Thomsen. He had been a friend of Fassbinder's and interviewed him on several occasions.

The focus of this year's historical film section, Retrospective, is technicolor. The technique, developed during the 1930s in the United States, was implemented in numerous classic works that made film history. The colors used were particularly bright, like in the world-famous film "Gone with the Wind."

Digital editing has opened up new possibilities to process old films so that they can be shown once again. For the past two years, refurbished films have been presented in the Berlinale Classics section. One of them this year is the silent film "Varieté" from 1925, starring Hungarian dancer and actress Lya de Putti.

Once again on the big screen and in all her glory, German actress Nastassia Kinski can be seen in "Paris, Texas" by Wim Wenders. The German director will receive an honorary Bear for his life's work and this year's Berlinale. Ten of his early works will be screened, and his latest production, "Everything Will Be Fine," is competing for the top prize.

When it comes to winning audiences, TV series have long since found themselves on par with film. Like other international festivals, the Berlinale now screens top television series as well. Of special interest for German visitors to the Berlinale will be "Deutschland 83," an eight-part series produced by broadcaster RTL, which tells an East German-West German story set in 1983.

The Berlin International F'ilm Festival serves as a bridge between arts and business. Both creative achievement and box office success are recognized. The film adaptation of the bestseller "Fifty Shades of Grey" will see its premiere during the Berlinale on February 11, opening in theaters the following day.

The 65th Berlinale will come to an end on Sunday, February 15, just one day after the presentation of the Golden and Silver Bears. A jury headed by American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky will decide which of the 19 competing films will receive these trophies.