KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS - THERE WILL BE BLOOD FAVOURITE FOR GOLDEN BEAR FILM IN BERLIN

THERE WILL BE BLOOD FAVOURITE FOR GOLDEN BEAR FILM IN BERLIN

Oscar favourite There Will Be Blood and British film Happy-Go-Lucky are amongst the contenders for the main prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

The Golden Bear award will be awarded on Saturday evening and is traditionally handed out before the Academy awards every year.

Twenty one films in total were screened in competition at the festival, but according to the Reuters news agency, there is no clear favourite amongst the critics.

Variety magazine even went as far as to say: "On paper, the competition had looked more impressive than it had in several years, though in practice some fest names have failed to deliver challenging or innovative fare."

Paul Thomas Anderson's epic There Will Be Blood is however tipped to do well, having already received eight Oscar nominations.

British director Mike Leigh's comedy Happy-Go-Lucky also received strong reviews from the critics.

Other potential winners include Kristin Scott Thomas' I've Loved You So Long, Elegy starring Penelope Cruz and Sir Ben Kingsley and Standing Operating Procedure, which deal with the abuse of inmates at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

Lat year's winner was the Chinese drama Tuya's Marriage.