The Irish-British film Bloody Sunday is in the running for the Golden Bear at this year's Berlin Film Festival which opens on Saturday.
But the film, directed by Paul Greengrass, faces stiff competition from 22 other films including likely Oscar winners The Shipping News and Iris, both starring Dame Judi Dench.
Several other Oscar hopefuls are being screened out of competition at the 12-day festival including Robert Altman's Gosford Park and Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind.
Over 400 films will be shown during the festival, which is now in its 52nd year and ranks behind Cannes and alongside Venice as Europe's top film showcase.