Neither snow flurries nor stormy gusts could dampen the good spirits at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival. This year the Festival recorded its highest attendances ever with 180,000 tickets sold to the public, who along with accredited festival guests attended the cinema more than 400,000 times.

The international film industry and local audiences attended 343 films at more than 1100 screenings. Capacity audiences at screenings across all sections of the festival - Competition, Panorama, Forum, Kinderfilmfest, Perspektive Deutsches Kino, Retrospective and the Selling Democracy series - made tickets a scarce commodity at this year’s festival.

The festival will once again conclude with the Berlinale Kinotag, tomorrow Sunday, February 20. The Berlinale Kinotag is dedicated to the public, a selection of films from across the programme will screen at all the Berlinale venues.

Cinema experts flocked to the Berlinale 2005 in record numbers: 17,000 accredited visitors came representing 120 countries, an increase of 1000 industry representatives on last year. The European Film Market (EFM) was busier than ever with an increase of approximately 30% across-the-board. Next year’s move to the bigger Martin-Gropius-Bau is awaited with anticipation.

Tonight at the Berlinale Palast the seven-member International Jury, under the presidency of director Roland Emmerich, will award the Golden and Silver Bears along with the Blue Angel and Alfred Bauer Prizes.