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Roman Polanski wins best director award at Berlin

Updated - 22/2/2010 - bbc.co.uk.

Roman Polanski has won the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin Film Festival for his new political thriller, The Ghost Writer.

Polanski could not accept the award as he is under house arrest and fighting extradition to the US over a conviction for having sex with a minor in 1977.

His producer, Alain Sarde, said he would be "very happy" with the honour.

The Turkish film, Bal (Honey), was the surprise winner of the coveted Golden Bear for best picture at the festival.

Directed by Semih Kaplanoglu, it tells the story of a six-year-old boy who ventures into the woods to find his missing father, a beekeeper.

The runner-up prize was awarded to the Romanian entry, Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier (If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle), a tough prison drama about a teenager who escapes from jail to stop his mother taking his brother away to Italy.

Appeal

The Ghost Writer, which is about a writer hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister, had its premiere at Berlin.


view full story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8526500.stm

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