Skip to main content

Berlin International Film Festival · 2024

Berlin International Film Festival 2024

Panorama

Programme

31 films · 8 reviews

Jump to a film

Afterwar

Filmed across 15 years, the director met cast as children in postwar Pristina and then returned when they were adults... they tell their collective story based on their lived experience.

(Country: Finland, Denmark; Year: 2024; Director: Birgitte Stærmose; Writer: Birgitte Stærmose; Stars: Luan Jaha, Besnik Hyseni, Shpresim Azemi, Afrim Muçaj, Xhevahire Abdullahu, Florim Krasniqi, Leotrim Kraniqi, Shpëtim Krasniqi, Molike Maxhuni, Gëzim Kelmendi, Valon Selimi, Lirija Abdullahu, Sadije Abdullahu, Shkëlqim Krasniqi)

Aguacuario

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2023; Director: Jose Eduardo Castilla Ponce; Writer: Jose Eduardo Castilla Ponce; Stars: Marsell Moreno Cruz, Hugo Benítez Guerra, Claudio Jurado)

All Shall Be Well

Angie and Pat have been together for over four decades but after Pat's unexpected death, Angie finds herself at the mercy of Pat's family as she struggles to retain her dignity and the home that both had shared for over 30 years.

(Country: Hong Kong, China; Year: 2024; Director: Ray Yeung; Writer: Ray Yeung; Stars: Patra Au, Lin-Lin Li, Tai-Bo, So-Ying Hui, Chung-Hang Leung, Fish Liew, Rachel Leung, Lai Chai Ming, Li Lai Ha, Luna Shaw, Gia Yu Yuk Wah, Bonde Sham, Hon-Fai Ho, Michael Khan, Miles Sible)

Andrea Gets A Divorce (Andrea Lässt Sich Scheiden)

Review preview for Andrea Gets A Divorce

Although it could easily have been played as a farce, it’s friendship and human feeling that is the key to this film.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Rural policewoman Andrea wants to end her marriage and become a detective inspector in the city. After a birthday party, her drunken soon-to-be ex-husband runs out in front of her car. In a state of shock, Andrea commits a hit-and-run.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2024; Director: Josef Hader; Writer: Josef Hader, Florian Kloibhofer, Hans-Christian Schmid, Bernadette Klausberger, Florian Mischa Böder; Stars: Birgit Minichmayr, Josef Hader, Thomas Schubert, Robert Stadlober, Branko Samarovski, Thomas Stipsits, Maria Hofstätter, Marlene Hauser, Margarete Tiesel, Wolfgang Hübsch, Dominik Warta, Michael Pink, Karl Leopold Furtlehner, Gerhard Haubenberger, Michael Edlinger)

Full review

Baldiga - Unlocked Heart (Baldiga - Entsichertes Herz)

Using diary excerpts, photographs and memories from companions, the film paints the portrait of the artist Jürgen Baldiga.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Markus Stein; Stars: Birgit Baldiga, Jürgen Baldiga, Bernd Boßmann, Timo Lewandovsky, Ulf Reimer)

Betânia

After losing her husband, 65-year-old midwife Betânia is persuaded by her daughters to leave her remote village in a bid for a fresh start.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2024; Director: Marcelo Botta; Writer: Marcelo Botta; Stars: Diana Mattos, Ulysses Azevedo, Nádia de Cássia, Caçula Rodrigues, Michelle Cabral, Tião Carvalho, Rosa Ewerton Jara, Vitão Santiago, Anouk Mulard, Tim Vidal, Caiçara Vibration)

Between The Temples

Review preview for Between The Temples

Filled with awkwardness and tension, the film acts as a spotlight for all the actors.

Jeremy Mathews · 3.5 out of 5
A cantor in a crisis of faith finds his world turned upside down when his grade school music teacher re-enters his life as his new adult bat mitzvah student.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Nathan Silver; Writer: Nathan Silver, C Mason Wells; Stars: Jason Schwartzman, Carol Kane, Caroline Aaron, Robert Smigel, Dolly De Leon, Madeline Weinstein, Matthew Shear, Jaden Waldman, Jacob Morrell, Laurent Rejto)

Full review

A Bit Of A Stranger

Svitlana, a Russian-speaking Ukrainian, examines the colonised part of her consciousness and tries to find answers to the question of how Soviet totalitarianism and Russification influenced the relationships within her family.

(Country: Ukraine, Sweden; Year: 2024; Director: Svitlana Lishchinska; Writer: Svitlana Lishchinska)

Brief History Of A Family

Review preview for Brief History Of A Family

Lin and Sun studiously maintain the enigma around Shuo so that we are left guessing as to whether he’s just a disadvantaged teen trying to make his way in the world or a cuckoo in the nest.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A middle-class family’s fate becomes intertwined with their only son’s enigmatic new friend in post one-child policy China, putting unspoken secrets, unmet expectations, and untended emotions under the microscope.

(Country: China, Denmark; Year: 2024; Director: Jianjie Lin; Writer: Jianjie Lin; Stars: Ke-Yu Guo, Feng Zu, Xilun Sun, Muran Lin)

Full review See: Interview with Jianjie Lin about Brief History Of A Family

Crossing

A retired teacher, has promised to find her long-lost niece, Tekla. Her search takes her to Istanbul where she meets Evrim, a lawyer fighting for trans rights, and Tekla starts to feel closer than ever.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark, France, Turkey, Georgia; Year: 2024; Director: Levan Akin; Writer: Levan Akin; Stars: Mzia Arabuli, Lucas Kankava, Deniz Dumanli)

Cu Li Never Cries (Cu Li Không Bao Giờ Khóc)

After inheriting a pygmy slow loris from her long-estranged husband, a woman clings to dwindling ties to her past while her niece prepares for her wedding and worries about the future.

(Country: Vietnam; Year: 2024; Director: Pham Ngoc Lan; Writer: Pham Ngoc Lan, Nghiem Quynh Trang; Stars: Minh-Châu, Xuan An Ngo, Ha-Phuong, Kieu-Trinh, Phí-Linh, Cao Sang, Hoàng-Hà, Hien Thanh, Van Thai Nguyen, Quôc-Tuân, Thuong Tin)

Diaries From Lebanon

Lebanon, 2018. War, politics or revolution: these are the choices faced by Georges, Joumana and Perla Joe. Three destinies and a shared desire to rebuild a troubled country.

(Country: Lebanon; Year: 2024; Director: Myriam El Hajj; Stars: Georges Moufarrej, Joumana Haddad, Perla Joe Maalouli)

Every You Every Me (Alle Die Du Bist)

Drama about falling in and out of love.

(Country: Germany, Spain; Year: 2024; Director: Michael Fetter Nathansky; Writer: Michael Fetter Nathansky; Stars: Aenne Schwarz, Carlo Ljubek, Youness Aabbaz, Sara Fazilat, Naila Schuberth, Peter Brachschoss, David Hürten, Moritz Klaus, Sascha Mahlberg, Jule Nebel-Linnenbaum, Dagmar Sachse, Sammy Schrein, Frank Stüdgens, Nadja Zwanziger)

Faruk

Faruk, who is over 90 years old, increasingly becomes the protagonist in the film his daughter is making about the impending demolition of his block of flats in Istanbul.

(Country: France, Germany, Turkey; Year: 2024; Director: Asli Özge; Stars: Gönül Gezer, Faruk Özge, Derya Erkenci)

The Idea Of You

A 40-year-old single mother begins an unexpected romance with the 24-year-old lead singer of the hottest boy band on the planet.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Michael Showalter; Writer: Michael Showalter, Jennifer Westfeldt; Stars: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Reid Scott, Annie Mumolo, Viktor White, Raymond Cham, Jaiden Anthony, Dakota Adan, Perry Mattfeld, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Jordan Aaron Hall)

I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (Ještě nejsem, kým chci být)

After the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968, photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková strives to break free from the constraints of the repressive Czechoslovakian regime and embarks on a long journey towards freedom.

(Country: Czechia, Slovakia, Austria; Year: 2024; Director: Klára Tasovská; Stars: Libuse Jarcovjakova)

I Saw the TV Glow

Review preview for I Saw the TV Glow

It tells what could be a goofy story, about awkward teenagers obsessed with a TV series called The Pink Opaque, but portrays it as an ominous, nightmarish mindfuck.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Teenager Owen is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show - a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Jane Schoenbrun; Writer: Jane Schoenbrun; Stars: Justice Smith, Michael C. Maronna, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Amber Benson, Danny Tamberelli, Conner O'Malley, Danielle Deadwyler, Emma Portner, Helena Howard, Will Fitz, Ben Heineman, Ian Foreman, Timothy Griffin Allan, Michael Twaine, Michelle Santiago)

Full review

Janet Planet

A youngster observes her mother Janet and three enigmatic adults who drift in and out of their lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Annie Baker; Writer: Annie Baker)

Meanwhile On Earth (Pendant Ce Temps Sur Terre)

Review preview for Meanwhile On Earth

There’s a sweet, melancholy flavour to Clapin’s work.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Siblings Elsa and Franck were very close. Since Franck disappeared during a space mission three years ago, Elsa has struggled to move on with her life. Until one day she is contacted by an unidentified life form.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: Jérémy Clapin; Writer: Jérémy Clapin; Stars: Megan Northam, Dimitri Doré, Sébastien Pouderoux, Catherine Salée, Sam Louwyck, Roman Williams, Sofia Lesaffre, Nicolas Avinée, Yoann Thibaut Mathias, Arcadi Radeff, Sabine Timoteo, Marie Bray, Christian Bouillette)

Full review

Memories Of A Burning Body (Memorias de un cuerpo que arde)

Repression and taboos have shaped the image of womanhood for Ana, 68, Patricia, 69, and Mayela, 71. Their stories combine to form a kaleidoscope of memories, secrets and longings that are incarnated by another woman’s body.

(Year: 2024; Director: Antonella Sudasassi)

My New Friends (Les gens d'à côté)

Police officer Lucie’s solitary daily life is disturbed by the arrival of a young couple and their little girl who move in next door. As she grows fond of them, she discovers that the father is an anti-police activist.

(Country: France; Year: 2024; Director: André Téchiné; Writer: André Téchiné, Régis de Martrin-Donos; Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Hafsia Herzi, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Stéphane Rideau, Moustapha Mbengue)

My Stolen Planet (Sayyareye dozdide shodeye man)

Review preview for My Stolen Planet

Through a collage of footage shot by numerous brave protesters, she pieces together a statement about film as identity, in a country where the individual slowly fades away.

Sergiu Inizian · 4 out of 5
Farah, an Iranian woman, is forced to migrate to her private planet to be free. She buys other people’s memories in the form of Super 8 films and records and archives her own to create an alternative history of Iran.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Farahnaz Sharifi; Writer: Farahnaz Sharifi)

Full review

No Other Land

Review preview for No Other Land

No Other Land brings humanity and particularity to a topic that is too often discussed in the abstract.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli authorities and the unlikely alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.

(Country: Palestinian Territories; Year: 2024; Director: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor; Stars: Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal)

Full review

The Outrun

Review preview for The Outrun

Distances of time and space are collapsible in Fingscheidt’s hands.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands - where she grew up - hoping to heal.

(Country: UK, Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Nora Fingscheidt; Writer: Nora Fingscheidt, Amy Liptrot, Daisy Lewis; Stars: Saskia Reeves, Saoirse Ronan, Paapa Essiedu, Stephen Dillane, Lauren Lyle, Izuka Hoyle, Naomi Wirthner, Nabil Elouahabi, Posy Sterling, Tony Hamilton-Croft, Seamus Dillane, Danyal Ismail, Scott Miller, Paul Kulik)

Full review

Paradises Of Diane (Les Paradis de Diane)

Immediately after the birth of her child, Diane abandons her boyfriend and baby in a Zurich hospital and disappears into a Spanish city she does not know on the Mediterranean. But the changes her body is going through remind her of what she is fleeing from.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2024; Director: Jan Gassmann, Carmen Jaquier; Writer: Carmen Jaquier; Stars: Dorothée de Koon, Aurore Clément, Roland Bonjour, Omar Ayuso, Duncan Airlie James, Stéphanie Lagarde, Jaap Achterberg, Eva Lenherr, José Roberto Díaz, Marke Temple, Soraya Wells, Amador Xtreme, Beat Wittwer, Jolanda Adams, Vicente Pérez Aznar)

Rising Up At Night (Tongo Saa)

Portrait of the residents of Kinshasa with their faith, hopes and disappointments, immersed in the beauty of the nights in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

(Country: Belgium, Germany, Qatar, Congo, Burkina Faso; Year: 2024; Director: Nelson Makengo)

Scorched Earth (Verbrannte Erde)

Twelve years after he fled, career criminal Trojan returns to Berlin. A valuable painting is set to be stolen in the city. But the meticulously planned heist soon runs out of control.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Thomas Arslan; Stars: Misel Maticevic, Marie Leuenberger, Alexander Fehling, Till Wonka)

Sex

Two chimney sweeps living in monogamous, heterosexual marriages both end up in situations that challenge their views on sexuality and gender roles.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2024; Director: Dag Johan Haugerud; Stars: Jan Gunnar Røise, Thorbjørn Harr, Siri Forberg, Birgitte Larsen)

Teaches Of Peaches

Documentary charts the journey of Canadian Merrill Nisker into the internationally acclaimed cultural powerhouse that is Peaches.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2024; Director: Philipp Fussenegger, Judy Landkammer; Stars: Peaches, Leslie Feist, Chilly Gonzales, Shirley Manson, Charlie Le Mindu)

The Visitor

A refugee washes up in a small suitcase on the banks of the River Thames in London. Arriving at the house of an upper-class family, he seduces each and every family member, depicted in explicit sex scenes. A reimagining of Pasolini’s Teorema.

(Country: UK; Year: 2024; Director: Bruce La Bruce; Writer: Alex Babboni, Victor Fraga, Bruce La Bruce; Stars: Bishop Black, Macklin Kowal, Amy Kingsmill, Ray Filar, Kurtis Lincoln, Luca Federici, John Foley, Adrian Bracken, Kabir Jhala, Fidel Trotman, Paul Miller, Léolo, Mathieu Morel, Aurélien Deniel)

Which Way Africa? (À quand l'Afrique?)

The people of the forests pound their drums to keep their chants alive. Those of the city shriek of “Progress!” Still more rush in to seize the treasures of the land, only to be met by new voices shouting in defiance.

(Director: David-Pierre Fila; Stars: Samuel Fosso, Joseph Ki-zerbo, Imam Souleymane, Simon Njami)