500 filmmakers from 61 countries will join the Berlinale Talent Campus, a winter academy of filmmaking, from February 10 to 14, 2003.

150 of them are from Germany, others come from the UK (76), Spain (21), the US (32) and France (16) as well as Argentina (6), Israel (5), Poland (7), India (2), Australia (5) and many other countries. Most of the up-and-coming filmmakers are directors but producers, writers, cinematographers as well as actors are also participating.

The Berlinale Talent Campus, initiated by the Berlin International Film Festival, with co-founding partners Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg and U.K. Film Council, has set up a programme of workshops, screenings, discussions, and case studies led by industry professionals.

Some of the highlights of the 28 events are:

Wim Wenders and Dennis Hopper will be talking about the ups and downs in their lives in ''Wenders and Hopper: Until the End of the World'. Before the interview, there will be a screening of the feature documentary Dennis Hopper: Create (or Die) by Henning Lohner and Ariane Riecker.

The market directors from Rotterdam, Toronto, Berlin, IFP New York, and Pusan will help young filmmakers with the sales aspect of the commercial film business. In 'Markets & Sales: Now Comes the Hard Part', they will discuss which markets are appropriate for what kind of film and how to plan market strategies and world-wide distribution.

International award-winning production designer Ken Adam (Bond films, The Madness Of King George) will be the guest of an audience discussion following the screening of War Rooms And Volcanoes. Ken Adam - Film Sets Are Forever, a documentary by Plenio Filmproduktion.

Thomas Hailer, director of the Kinderfilmfest, will present a screening of Elina - As If I Wasn't There by Klaus Härö. Afterwards, the discussion with director, producer and screenwriter will try to identify just what constitutes a successful co-operation with children in front of the camera.

Rainer Kölmel, Cedomir Kolar and Nik Powell will hold a lesson in damage control: 'Bankruptcy and Resurrection'. They all have something in common: a passion for cinema, for success - and the experience of failing. What can future producers learn from these guys, besides their well-known humour and their energy for resurrection'

Mathilde Bonnefoy (editor Run Lola Run, Heaven) will use samples of her work to demonstrate how each editing decision is fundamental for the entire plot. Her workshop, 'The Power of Editing', focuses on the effect editing has on a film's dramaturgy.

The Berlinale Short Night is a special treat: Some of this year's Campus participants are also represented in the official programme of the Berlin International Film Festival. This special screening features all of their short films and includes an open discussion with the filmmakers.

Variety and Screen Digest present 'The A-Z of E-Cinema', an overview of digital filmmaking, a technology which could re-write the rules for how films get made and shown.

Another film programme is dedicated to this year's Shooting Stars of the European Film Promotion. Santa Maradona by Marco Ponti with Italian Shooting Star Libero De Rienzo, proves that becoming an adult does not have to mean losing your innocence and love of life. Liz Gil's Goldfish Memory with Irish Shooting Star Flora Montgomery is a light-hearted look at the dangers and delights of dating in contemporary Dublin. And Falling Sky by Gunnar Vikene tells the story of Reider (Kristoffer Joner, Norwegian Shooting Star), who expects to get hit in the head by a meteor. And finally, in Nudos (Lluis Maria Güell) with Spanish Shooting Star Goya Toleda, the investigation of a mysterious death leads to a relationship which will change the investigating lawyer's world.

The evening film programme New Russian Cinema shows various films from Russia. The opening film Shik by Bakhtyar Khudojnazarov (Luna Papa) tells the story of three young friends, who wish to own a suit. The Short Film programme presents a video documentary following Chechen children on their trip through Moscow (Home Video), amongst others.

New Russian Cinema programme at the Talent Campus - is one of the first events of the year-long "Spektakulova" Russian-German arts festival which will be launched by Federal President Johannes Rau and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Berlin on February 9.