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Cologne, Germany -- The Berlinale has finalized the menu for this year's Culinary Cinema sidebar and the spread is a typical smorgasbord of documentaries and dramas with a meaty cuisine hook.

Now in its third year, Berlin's Culinary Cinema section takes the dinner-and-a-movie concept to the next level, featuring gala screenings of food-themed films followed by meals prepared by some of Europe's finest chefs.

Robert Kenner's "Food Inc.," a documentary based on the best-selling expose of the international food production industry, will open the event Feb. 8. Berlin chef Tim Raue will follow up with a non-mass-produced meal for attendees.

Other highlights this year include Gianni Di Gregorio's "Mid-August Lunch," which will run on a double bill with a meal from Luxembourg chef Lea Linster; the Spanish comedy "Dieta Mediterranea" by Joaquin Oristrell, which has inspired a dish from Kolja Kleeberg of Berlin's hip Vau restaurant and Aida Begic's "Snow,...

• The jury composed of Walter Carvalho, Saverio Costanzo, Irène Jacob, Jia Zhang-ke, Romuald Karmakar and Bruno Todeschini gave out a bunch of leopards on the weekend. Masahiro Kobayashi (see pic above) won the Golden Leopard for his film Ai no yokan (The Rebirth). Best Director was awarded to Capitaine Achab by Philippe Ramos (France) and the Special Jury Prize went to Memories (Jeonju Digital Project 2007) by Pedro Costa, Harun Farocki and Eugène Green. Spanish actress Carmen Maura and the French actor Michel Piccoli both received an Excellence Award (Michel Piccoli also received the prize for best actor in Sous les toits de Paris, joint winner was Michele Venitucci in Fuori dalle corde). And finally (and not surprisingly), Death at a Funeral (the Brit comedy by Frank Oz) won the audience award – this making it the 5th or 6th time that it has walked away from an international festival with such honors.

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