The Golden Bear is traditionally one of the accolades handed out before the Academy Awards each year.

There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as an oil prospector, is already shortlisted for eight Oscars.

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Crime victim pay-outs 'too slow' ... directed by Mike Leigh, has won plaudits for its portrayal of an optimistic teacher called Poppy.

The film has already earned Leigh the Palme d'Or in Cannes and Golden Lion in Venice.

'Failed to deliver'

A total of 21 pictures were screened in competition in the German capital.

However, there was no clear consensus among leading critics as to which would win the Golden Bear on Saturday evening, Reuters reported.

Industry publication Variety went as far as saying that there had been some disappointments during the festival, which is being staged for the 58th time.

"On paper, the competition had looked more impressive than it had in several years, though in practice some [festival] names have failed to deliver challenging or innovative fare," it said.

Among the other contenders are the emotionally-charged French film I've Loved You So Long, starring Kristin Scott Thomas.

Nanni Moretti played a grieving executive in Italy's Quiet Chaos, and there was The Elite Squad, the story of corrupt police officers who were supposed to be fighting drug crime in Brazil.

Elegy is also among the potential winners of the Golden Bear - it stars Penelope Cruz and Sir Ben Kingsley in a story covering ageing, insecurity and death.

And there is a US documentary, Standard Operating Procedure, which deals with the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Last year's Golden Bear was awarded to Tuya's Marriage, a Chinese drama about a herdswoman from Inner Mongolia.

(BBC)

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