Animated feature kicks off 68th Berlin Int'l Film Festival

The 68th Berlin International Film Festival, or as it's more commonly known, the Berlinale, kicked off Thursday with an animated feature.

"ISLE of dogs", a joint film production from Britain and Germany and the first animated picture ever to open the festival, tells an adventure story about a Japanese boy looking for and rescuing his dog.

Another 23 films have also made it into this year's main competition category, 19 of which will compete for the best picture award, the Golden Bear, and other individual awards, the Silver Bears.

German film director Tom Tykwer heads the jury team for the main category along with five other filmmakers from different countries. They will decide on award recipients on Feb. 24.

A total of 400 films from all over the world are entered in various categories and will be screened around the city during the Berlinale. Many of them are world premieres, making Berlin the hub city of film arts.

The European Film Market, the business arm of the festival that hosts one of the biggest international film trading markets, will run in parallel with film screenings during the festival.

This year's Berlinale will also hold a series of film-related events in the coming ten days, some of which focus on the recent anti-sexual harassment campaign in the entertainment industry, according to Berlinale chief Dieter Kosslick.

Berlinale, annually held in the German capital city, is one of the world's leading film festivals. This year's Berlinale will last until Feb. 25.