Wes Anderson premiere to open Berlin film festival

The first poster and trailer for the film were released online last month

The Grand Budapest Hotel, the latest film from US writer and director Wes Anderson, will open the 2014 Berlinale film festival in February.

The film's ensemble cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and Jude Law.

Set in a famous European hotel between the wars, it tells the story of a stolen priceless painting and was partly filmed in Germany.

Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom opened Cannes Film Festival in 2012.

"With unmistakeable Wes Anderson charm, this comedy promises to kick things off in a big way," said Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick of Anderson's new film.

Its world premiere will launch the 11-day event in Berlin on 6 February, the first major European film festival of the year.

Three-time Oscar nominee Anderson has a large cult following thanks to films such as The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and the stop-motion animation Fantastic Mr Fox, based on Roald Dahl's book of the same name.

The British-German co-production also stars Mathieu Amalric, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Saoirse Ronan and Jason Schwartzman.

The off-beat story follows the adventures of a legendary hotel concierge, played by Fiennes, and the bell boy who becomes his most trusted friend. It premiered its first trailer online last month.

The Berlin Film Festival runs from 6 to 16 February 2014.