Owen film to open Berlin festival

Next year's Berlin Film Festival will kick off on 5 February with political thriller The International, starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts.

Directed by Tom Tykwer, the film traces the criminal business transactions that finance war and terror.

Britain's Tilda Swinton will chair the international jury at the 2009 event, which runs until 15 February.

German-born Tykwer previously launched the festival in 2002 with his thriller Heaven, starring Cate Blanchett.

Pregnant

The director is best known for his 1998 film Run Lola Run and his 2006 adaptation of Patrick Suskind's controversial best-seller Perfume.

Partly shot in Germany, The International will screen out of competition ahead of its US release on 13 February.

Its cast includes Armin Mueller-Stahl, Danish actor Ulrich Thomsen and Ireland's Brian F O'Byrne.

This year's festival launched with a screening of Rolling Stones concert film Shine a Light, directed by Martin Scorsese.

Watts, 40, started shooting The International shortly after giving birth to her son Alexander.

The actress is currently expecting her second child with her partner, film actor Liev Schreiber.

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