Like a Virgin Director

Madonna Causes Stir in Berlin with First Film

The Material Girl arrived in Berlin on Tuesday, where her directorial debut, "Filth and Wisdom" is showing at the Berlin International Film Festival. While the film isn't in the official competition, Madonna is among the brightest stars to attend this year's festival.

Madonna is showing her directorial debut at the Berlin International Film Festival.

She has sold over 130 million albums worldwide and appeared in over 20 films. Now one of the world's most recognizable pop stars is moving behind the camera -- Madonna's first film as a director is being premiered this week at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Berlin has been buzzing since Madonna's private jet landed at the city's Tegel Airport on Tuesday evening. A team of paparazzi trailed her to a restaurant in Berlin's downtown Mitte district, where they waited outside in the cold while she dined on French cuisine.

The Material Girl's first effort as a movie director is "Filth and Wisdom," the story of three young residents of a London apartment who take a series of odd jobs to make ends meet while pursuing bigger dreams.

The main character, a Ukrainian immigrant, is determined to make it big with his rock band. That wasn't too much of a stretch for the actor who played him, Eugene Hütz. Hütz, who also appeared in the film version of Jonathan Safran Foer's novel "Everything is Illuminated," fronts the New York-based band Gogol Bordello which specializes in a musical genre known as Gypsy punk, a term coined by the mustachioed Ukrainian singer.

Madonna is married to British director Guy Ritchie of "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" fame. She said in an interview this week that she asked Ritchie for his expert advice before she stepped on the set.

"He just said, 'confidence, that's the most important thing you need to exude on the set,'" said Madonna. "And that was good advice."

Madonna was scheduled to give a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the Hyatt hotel in Potsdamer Platz, before attending the premier of her film, which is not in official competition at the festival, later Wednesday evening at the Zoo-Palast cinema in west Berlin.

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