The first titles of the 2008 Berlin Film Festival were announced yesterday, with three of the eight announced offerings from Europe. The festival, which will kick off on February 7, will host the world premieres of Kirschblüten - Hanami (Cherry Blossoms - Hanami) from German director Doris Dörrie and Gardens of the Night from UK director Damian Harris as well as the international premiere of Katyn, the WWII film and Polish boxoffice hit from veteran director Andrzej Wajda. The latter will be presented Out of Competition. Noteworthy non-European titles include Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood and a new work from veteran documentary maker Errol Morris. The full line-up of the 58th edition of the festival will be announced early next year.

Kirschblüten - Hanami again takes Dörrie to Japan after her 2005 comedy Der Fischer und seine Frau (The Fisherman and his Wife), where a widower played by Elmar Wepper (Der Fischer und seine Frau) ends up when chasing the dreams of his late wife (Hannelore Elsner, Vivere). The film also stars Nadja Uhl (De tweeling / Twin Sisters), Birgit Minichmayr (Fallen / Falling), Maximilian Brückner (Männer wie wir / Guys and Balls) and Aya Irizuki.

The UK-US co-production Gardens of the Night from UK director Damian Harris tells the story of a brother and sister who are held captive for over nine years. When they are finally free, they are left to fend for themselves on the streets. The film stars newcomers Gillian Jacobs and Evan Ross and veterans Tom Arnold and John Malkovich.

Andrzej Wajda, who received the Honorary Golden Bear for Lifetime Achievement in 2006, will present Katyn, his film about the 1940 Katyn massacre during which the Soviet secret service killed thousands of Polish war prisoners. In the main roles are Maja Ostaszewska (Przemiany), Artur Zmijewski (Bezmiar sprawiedliwosci / Immensity of Justice) and Andrzej Chyra (Komornik / The Collector).

The other announced films are: Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood from the USA; Zuo You (In Love We Trust) from Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai; Fernando Eimbcke's Lake Tahoe from Mexico; Brazilian boxoffice hit Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad) from director José Padilha and S.O.P. Standard Operating Procedure, the Abu Ghraib prison documentary from US filmmaker Errol Morris.

It was also announced today that the Forum section of the Berlin Film Festival, which showcases avant-guard films and filmmakers, will open with Guy Maddin's new film My Winnipeg, which will be preceded by a short from Isabella Rossellini entitled Green Porno. 

The 2008 Berlinale will run between February 7 and 17 in the German capital and european-films.net will of course be covering the entire event.