The 51st annual Berlin Film Festival is due to open tonight (Wednesday) with a screening of the World War II epic drama Enemy at the Gates, set during the 1942 battle of Stalingrad, regarded by many as the turning point in the war. With an $85-million budget, the English-language film starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law and Ed Harris, is by far the most expensive European-produced movie ever made. In an interview with the German wire service Deutsche Presse Agentur, outgoing festival head Moritz de Hadeln remarked, "I've heard it said that up to 20 per cent of Hollywood productions currently are being financed with German money. I find it really sad that the Germans invest so much money in Hollywood but very little in German filmmaking. ... The Berlin festival's opening film, Enemy at the Gates, is proof positive that here in Germany we are more than capable of mounting a large-scale production."

Source: Studio Briefing