A Splendid Opening Night Awaits the 62nd Berlinale

The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival is opening tomorrow, February 9, 2012, with the world premiere of Benoît Jacquot's film Les adieux à la Reine. The director will be attending the gala with actors Diane Kruger, Léa Seydoux, Virginie Ledoyen, Xavier Beauvois and Noémie Lvovsky.

Minister of State and Commissioner for Cultural and Media Affairs Bernd Neumann and Berlin's Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit will open the Festival together with Berlinale Director Dieter Kosslick and Jury President Mike Leigh. The event will be broadcast live on television by ZDF/3sat. Music for the gala will be provided by the duo Boy; Anke Engelke will host the evening.

All members of the International Jury- Anton Corbijn, Asghar Farhadi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mike Leigh, François Ozon, Boualem Sansal and Barbara Sukowa - will be present.

Other celebrities expected to attend the event include:

Mario Adorf, Feo Aladag, Alexander Askoldov, Michael Ballhaus, Marie Bäumer, Meret Becker, Wolfgang Becker, Iris Berben, Senta Berger, Christian Berkel, Alexander Beyer, Sebastian Blomberg, Hans-Christoph Blumenberg, Jürgen Böttcher, Matthias Brandt, Fred Breinersdorfer, Maximilian Brückner, Thomas Brussig, Christopher Buchholz, Inga Busch, Christel Buschmann, Mareike Carrière, Didi Danquart, Pepe Danquart, August Diehl, Doris Dörrie, Angelica Domröse, Andreas Dresen, Hannelore Elsner, Max Färberböck, Alexander Fehling, Heino Ferch, Veronica Ferres, Inka Friedrich, Benno Fürmann, Bruno Ganz, Martina Gedeck, Matthias Glasner, Fritzi Haberlandt, Hendrik Handloegten, Monika Hansen, Corinna Harfouch, Reinhard Hauff, Leander Haussmann, Benjamin Heisenberg, André M. Hennicke, Hannah Herzsprung, Klaus Hoffmann, Rebecca Horn, Nina Hoss, Henry Hübchen, Sandra Hüller, Hermine Huntgeburth, Hannes Jaenicke, Julia Jentsch, Romuald Karmakar, Peter Keglevic, Sibel Kekilli, Burghart Klaußner, Herbert Knaup, Volker Koepp, Wolfgang Kohlhaase, Nicolette Krebitz, Thomas Kretschmann, David Kross, Maren Kroymann, Günter Lamprecht, Bernd Lange, Dani Levy, Anna Loos-Liefers, Susanne Lothar, Florian Lukas, Matthias Luthardt, Angelina Maccarone, Markus Majowski, Heike Makatsch, Misel Maticevic, Jeanine Meerapfel, Sunnyi Melles, Michael Mendl, Claudia Michelsen, Birgit Minichmayr, Helke Misselwitz, Ursela Monn, Wanja Mues, Anna Maria Mühe, Ulrich Noethen, Jana Pallaske, Christiane Paul, Milan Peschel, Franziska Petri, Christian Petzold, Jürgen Prochnow, Oskar Roehler, Armin Rohde, Yasemin Samdereli, Helke Sander, Otto Sander, Helma Sanders-Brahms, Katrin Sass, Angela Schanelec, Clemens Schick, Niklaus Schilling, Tom Schilling, Sebastian Schipper, Mark Schlichter, Volker Schlöndorff, Hans-Christian Schmid, Maria Schrader, Rolf Schübel, Robert Stadlober, Jan Henrik Stahlberg, Ula Stöckl, Lena Stolze, Jasmin Tabatabai, Mina Tander, Anatole Taubman, Anna Thalbach, Hilmar Thate, Jördis Triebel, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Tom Tykwer, Christian Ulmen, Idil Üner, Andres Veiel, Joseph Vilsmaier, Jürgen Vogel, Rüdiger Vogler, Justus von Dohnányi, Vera von Lehndorff, Rosa von Praunheim, Margarethe von Trotta, Nora von Waldstätten, Mark Waschke, Hans Weingartner, Kai Wiesinger, Johanna Wokalek, Natalia Wörner and Hanns Zischler.

A number of prominent German politicians have also announced they will be coming. They include Minister President of Brandenburg Matthias Platzeck; Federal Minister for Health Daniel Bahr; and a number of Bundestag members, including Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Vice-President of the Bundestag), Monika Grütters (Chair of the Bundestag's Committee on Cultural and Media Affairs), Claudia Roth (Party Leader of Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), Petra Merkel (Chair of the Bundestag's Budget Committee), and many more.

The 62nd Berlin International Film Festival will close on February 19, 2012. The Award Ceremony will be held on February 18, 2012.