Marie Antoinette drama to open Berlin Film Festival

Kruger (l) and Seydoux take the lead roles in the film, whose French title is Les Adieux a la reine

A film set around the French Revolution, in which German-born Diane Kruger plays Marie Antoinette, will launch the Berlin Film Festival.

Directed by Benoit Jacquot, Farewell My Queen looks at the early days of the Revolution from the point of view of servants working at Versailles.

France's Lea Seydoux plays one of the ill-fated queen's ladies-in-waiting.

British director Mike Leigh will chair the jury at this year's festival, which runs from 9 to 19 February.

Earlier this week, organisers said Meryl Streep would receive an honorary award during this year's event.

Based on the novel by Chantal Thomas, Jacquot's film will be among those in contention for the festival's prestigious Golden Bear prize.

According to organisers, the French-Spanish co-production is "a historical drama [that] draws parallels to the present... with ironic overtones".

Kruger, 35, is best known for her roles in Troy, National Treasure and Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

Seydoux, 26, appeared in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris and can currently be seen in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.