Mark Dornford-May's feature debut "U-Carmen eKhayelitsha" has been awarded the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.The first South African film to be selected for the competition in 25 years, "U-Carmen" is a unique interpretation of Bizet's opera set in the township of Khayelitsha and performed in Xhosa (the "click" language). Director Dornford-May was joined on the red carpet by Khayelitsha-born Pauline Malefane who appears in the title role and co-wrote th...

German director Roland Emmerich will be president of the International Jury of the Berlinale 2005. Emmerich’s international career began with the film Das Arche Noah Prinzip (The Noah’s Ark Principle) which screened at the Berlinale in 1984 and attracted worldwide attention. Hollywood discovered this great talent, who then went on to make Independence Day, Godzilla and The Patriot, all Oscar-crowned works. In 2004, with The Day After Tomorrow, Emmerich contributed to the ongoing debate on th...