Roman Polanski bags the best director award at Berlin Film Festival

Roman Polanski has proved his mettle yet again - the famed filmmaker has bagged the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin Film Festival for his new flick, The Ghost Writer.

The Ghost Writer, which was premiered at Berlin, is the story of a writer hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister.

Polanski could not receive the award himself as he is currently under house arrest in Switzerland and battling his extradition to the US over a 1977 illegal sex case.

The film's producer, Alain Sarde, accepted the prize on Polanski's behalf.

"I am sure Roman will be very happy," the BBC quoted Sarde, as saying.

"However, when I was lamenting with him that he cannot be with us, he said to me, 'even if I could, I wouldn't because the last time I went to a festival to get a prize, I ended up in jail'," he added referring to Polanski's arrest by Swiss authorities last September when the Oscar-winning director had come to Zurich to receive a prize.