Berlin film fest, last day

Amongst the gleaming highrises of the Postdamer Platz and lone autograph hunters waiting for Godot, nature is taking centre-stage. Snow has covered Berlin with a white blanket, while at dusk hundreds of black crows squawk from the naked trees. The crowds have thinned out. The festival is in its death throes. Next year the Platz will be buzzing again.

British writer/director Rachel Mathews had a similar experience at the Talent Campus' Script Clinic. She was one of 37 writers whose work had been selected for a session with an experienced script consultant.

"I came with a project that was moribund," she says. "Now I can't wait to resurrect it." Rachel credits Hungarian script editor Gaby Prekop for her renewed enthusiasm. "Previous editors I worked with didn't even like my script, but they just went through the motions because they were paid for it. Gaby switched a light on by asking me what I liked about the script. She found out my script changes from comedy to melodrama. But like any good script editor, she made me feel like I had arrived at that conclusion myself."

Click here to find who wins the usual assortment of Golden and Silver Bears, Teddies and other cute statues. Judging by the standing ovations at the press conference of Hotel Rwanda it may come away with a shiny bear of its own.