Controversial director Paul Verhoeven has been named as president of the jury at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.
The Dutch filmmaker, famous for erotic thrillers Basic Instinct and Showgirls, will decide which film gets this year's Golden Bear Award at the prestigious festival.
"With Paul Verhoeven as jury president, we have a filmmaker who has worked in a variety of genres in Europe and Hollywood," organisers said.
"His creative, multifaceted boldness and his willingness to experiment are reflected in the spectrum of his works."
The 78-year-old director has made a successful return to filmmaking after being absent from the festival circuit for nearly a decade.
After making a name for himself in Hollywood in the 1990s with classics such as Robocop and Total Recall, Verhoeven now returns to his more traditional topics - sex and violence.
His new film Elle stars Isabelle Huppert as a businesswoman victim of sexual assault, who decides to take revenge on her attacker.
The film got rave reviews and was nominated for the Palme d'Or in next year's Cannes International Film Festival.
Elle has also been nominated for the European Film Awards in three categories, as well as in two categories for the US Critics' Choice Awards.
The Berlinale - the first of the year's major European film festivals - runs from 9 to 18 February.
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