Flush from the box office success of his critically acclaimed and prize-winning farce Rossini, German writer-director Helmut Dietl finds his stint on the Berlinale Jury quite enjoyable.

"It gives me the opportunity to see a lot of films in a relatively short time," he says. "Normally I'm not the kind of man who likes to participate in these kinds of things." In fact, he admits that he doesn't really go to the movies very often.

"When I see a good movie I feel depressed because I say to myself, I'll never be able to do that like he did it. And when I see a bad movie I say, why are we going to ruin our lives watching this."

Dietl began his career in television in the late 1960s and soon moved into features. His first big break was working as script editor and producer on Bernhard Wicki's Das falsche Gewicht (1971). Several groundbreaking TV series followed  including Muenchener Geschichten and Der ganz normale Wahsinn. The latter was adapted for the big screen as Der Durchdreher (1979). For this production he received the first of his three German Film Prizes.

Like Rossini, his1992 feature Schtonk!  about faked Hitler diaries not only won the German Film Prize for best film and best direction but was also the German entry for the Academy Awards and Golden Globes.

And when asked just how important are winning prizes?
"They prove that people like you," he says. "And we all want to be liked. It's not the only reason but one of the main motivations. I love prizes. When I can get one I take it."

Seemingly the perfect person to hand out Berlin's coveted gold and silver bears. Owen Levy