Berlin Film Festival ends with narrow field vying for top awards

Feb 18, 2012, 9:42 GMT

Berlin - The main competition at the 62nd annual Berlin Film Festival has drawn to a close with a narrow field of candidates emerging as contenders for the top awards, which will be handed out at a Hollywood-style gala ceremony on Saturday.

Leading the race for the festival's coveted Golden Bear for best picture is a movie portraying the daily struggles in communist East Germany.

German director Christian Petzold's Barbara, which tells the story of a young woman doctor transferred to a provincial hospital and harassed by secret police after applying to leave Germany's communist east, is among 18 movies vying for the Golden Bear.

But other films have also won favour with both critics and moviegoers attending the 10-day festival.

These include Casare Deve Morire (Caesar Must Die) by Italian brothers and veteran directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, which is a semi-documentary is about staging a Shakespearean play in prison.

Other films that have created a buzz at the festival are Canadian director Kim Nguyen's Rebelle (Ware Witch), which follows the life of a 14-year-old female soldier in sub-Sahara Africa.

Swiss director Ursula Meier's L'enfant d'en haut (Sister), which stars French actress Lea Seydoux as the sister of a 12-year-old who steals from rich tourists at a ski resort, has also been mentioned as a possible prize winner.

Portugal's Miguel Gomes could also leave Berlin with one of the festival's top awards for his offbeat black-and-white film Tabu.

Set against the backdrop of Portugal's colonial history, the film tells the story of an old woman called Aurora and her relationships with her neighbour and maid.

The sole US film in the main competition, Billy Bob Thornton's Jayne Mansfield's Car might also stand a chance to win an award.

Set in the United States in the 1960s, Thornton's movie looks at World War II veterans from one family.

When the Berlinale ends on Sunday, 400 movies will have been screened across the main sections of what is the world's biggest film festival in terms of audience.

Headed by British director Mike Leigh, this year's eight-member jury will also handed out awards for best actress, actor and director.

On Friday, a seven-member jury of young filmgoers selected Turkish director Reis Celik for a Crystal Bear for best picture in the festival's youth competition.

His film, Lal Gece chronicles the lives of people who are trapped in a world of strict family traditions.

As the first major film market of the year, the Berlinale European Film Market (EFM) represents a major test of the movie business as it enters a new year.

The EFM ended this week with guarded optimism about the year ahead after reports of solid business deals.

EFM organizers said that over 7,800 movie distributors, producers and financiers attended this year's market. This represented an increase of about 800 compared with late year.