Berlin film festival adds films by Mike Leigh, Isabel Coixet and others to program

BERLIN -- New films from Isabel Coixet, Mike Leigh and Johnnie To will compete for the top Golden Bear award at the annual Berlin film festival next month, organizers said Wednesday.

Among nine new entries for the festival's main competition were Coixet's "Elegy," based on Philip Roth's novel "The Dying Animal." The movie stars Penelope Cruz, Ben Kingsley and Dennis Hopper.

The festival also will feature Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky" and Robert Guediguian's "Lady Jane," organizers said.

Other entries include Erick Zonca's "Julia," starring Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gound and Saul Rubinek; and "Caos Calmo," or "Quiet Chaos," from Antonello Grimaldi.

To will contribute "Sparrow."

Organizers last month announced the first part of the festival program, which included Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood."

The event, which runs Feb. 7-17, is the first of the year's major European festivals.