The Berlinale will include Europe's largest revue theatre, the Friedrichstadtpalast, as one of its screening venues at the 2009 festival.

The Berlinale plans to programme four to six screenings each day at the venue, from the Competition or Berlinale Special sections.

The venue will be known as the FriedrichstadtFilmpalast during the festival and will host premieres for special Berlinale screenings. Premieres of Competition films will continue to take place at the Berlinale Palast at Potsdamer Platz.

Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick has been gradually expanding the number of cinema venues used in the city's eastern half since coming to the Berlinale in 2001.

Last year, the Babylon Cinema became a Berlinale venue for the first time hosting the Generation 14plus section.

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